It’s been a genuinely tumultuous year for Channel 9’s Today show, and with reports now suggesting co-host Sarah Abo’s own future with the network is uncertain as her contract nears expiry, speculation is mounting over exactly who will lead the breakfast desk into 2027 – on both sides of it.
The upheaval began in June, when Karl Stefanovic’s more than two-decade run on Today came to an abrupt end. Nine confirmed it was parting ways with Stefanovic “effective immediately” after his independent podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show, drew significant backlash over an interview with British far-right activist Tommy Robinson. The network said at the time it was no longer possible for Stefanovic to continue hosting Today while also running the podcast in a personal capacity. Stefanovic, in the UK at the time, later described himself as “truly independent” following his exit, and was subsequently dropped from a planned radio role with Eddie McGuire amid ongoing fallout.
Sarah Abo, who had co-hosted alongside Stefanovic since 2023, continued fronting the show through the upheaval before going on maternity leave in July, following the birth of her son, Sonny. Samantha Armytage has been filling in during Abo’s leave, alongside Michael Willesee Jr, though a recent Yahoo Lifestyle poll of more than 6,600 readers found around 63 per cent were against Armytage taking on the role permanently. Now, with Abo’s own contract situation reportedly still unresolved, Nine faces the prospect of needing to settle not one, but potentially both seats at the Today desk.
Samantha Armytage remains the most persistently mentioned name, having already stepped in during Abo’s leave and previously covered summer and Christmas periods on the show, though she’s said she’s currently “very happy” in her primetime role hosting The Golden Bachelor Australia.
Sylvia Jeffreys, current Today Extra co-host, has been mentioned repeatedly given her decade-plus with Nine, though some reports have suggested internal concern around her dynamic with the Stefanovic family, given she’s married to Karl’s brother, Peter.
Jayne Azzopardi, Today’s regular newsreader, emerged as a reported frontrunner earlier this year, seen by some insiders as a lower-risk choice offering minimal disruption to the show’s existing rhythm. Alison Piotrowski, Weekend Today host, and Allison Langdon, a familiar face from her earlier stint on the show, have both been named among the contenders too. And Lisa Wilkinson, Today’s former co-host, has been the subject of a genuine fan campaign calling for her return, though she’s reportedly now focused on books and speaking engagements rather than the early-morning grind of breakfast television.
On the other side of the desk, Tom Steinfort has emerged as the clear frontrunner to take Karl’s old seat. A former 60 Minutes reporter with a background as a Nine correspondent across the US and Europe, Steinfort has already been filling in during Stefanovic’s various absences, giving both viewers and executives a genuine look at how he handles the role. Multiple reports have described him as the “natural fit” among the contenders.
Brenton Ragless, a long-time Nine presenter and current co-host of Adelaide’s 6pm bulletin, has also reportedly caught the network’s eye – notably, he was said to have been considered for the very same job back in 2018, when Stefanovic briefly left the show before returning shortly after. David Campbell, who already co-hosts Today Extra, remains frequently mentioned given his versatility and existing familiarity with the format, while Todd Woodbridge, the tennis great turned Tipping Point host and 2026 Gold Logie nominee, offers a genuinely different profile to the usual newsreader pathway. Charles Croucher, a respected Nine political reporter, has been floated as a more hard-news-focused option, and Joel Dry, recently installed in Brisbane’s 6pm bulletin, has also been mentioned, with one Nine insider reportedly praising his work filling in during Stefanovic’s absences – he’d represent a genuine generational reset if chosen. Kyle Sandilands has come up in passing too, though this looks more like speculative chatter than a serious contender, particularly given his own separate contractual disputes elsewhere in the industry.
It’s worth remembering just how much history sits in these two seats. Since Stefanovic first joined Today in 2005, the co-host chair beside him has been filled by Tracy Grimshaw, Jessica Rowe, Sarah Murdoch, Kellie Connolly, Lisa Wilkinson, Georgie Gardner and Allison Langdon, before Sarah Abo took over in 2023. A genuine change on the male side of the desk would actually be the more unusual shift in the show’s recent history, given how frequently Today has rotated its female co-hosts while Stefanovic himself remained the one constant for two decades.
With Abo’s own future reportedly still unresolved, Nine may end up needing to settle both seats at once, rather than simply slotting a new co-host in alongside an otherwise unchanged line-up. Whoever ultimately takes over will be stepping into a show, and a moment, considerably more turbulent than the one Stefanovic left behind after 21 years at the desk.
We’ll continue to update this story as Nine’s plans become clearer.
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