Sam has thrown her hat into the ring to take on Sarah’s maternity cover.
NEED TO KNOW
- Today co-host Sarah Abo has announced she’s expecting a baby boy with husband Cyrus Moran.
- Insiders say Samantha Armytage is eager to step in at the Today desk while Sarah is away.
- With filming wrapped on The Golden Bachelor, Sam is reportedly “light on duties”, making her available for the role.
- Rumours are also swirling that Sarah’s co-host Karl Stefanovic could also leave Today to focus on his podcast.
Today co-host Sarah Abo continues to bask in the warmth of the well-wishes she has received since announcing on-air that she is expecting her first child, a baby boy, with husband Cyrus Moran.
However, industry insiders are now turning their attention to who will take Sarah’s spot on the Today desk while she is away on maternity leave.
Not surprising, Samantha Armytage is said to be extremely motivated to land the coveted gig.
“Sam has to be a shoo-in to replace Sarah,” one TV insider tells New Idea exclusively. “This was never planned, but Sam is throwing her hat in the ring for the gig.
“It’s exactly the type of situation she’s been after – a permanent role but not one that will go on forever.”
Indeed, Sam has previously said she has no desire to return to brekkie TV full-time. But a temporary stint that has an end-date could be a different story.
“I am completely happy to just stay in prime time now with the alarms going off at reasonable hours like 6am,” Sam told the Something To Talk About podcast last year.
“I mean, you know, getting up for all those years, it really affects your social life very badly, and it’s also very hard on the body. So I don’t necessarily miss that, but breakfast TV is really fun.”
Back to her roots
The 49-year-old spent eight years co-hosting Sunrise alongside David Koch when she was employed by Channel Seven. Sam left Sunrise in March 2021, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family, which included her then-husband, Richard Lavender.
After a brief hiatus, Sam returned to our screens in 2022 as a special guest host on Farmer Wants A Wife. The following year she replaced Natalie Gruzlewski as the main host, a role she continued in for the 2024 season.
In September 2024 Sam announced that she was leaving Seven for good after 21 years with the network. A month later she had signed with Channel Nine.
That wasn’t the only major life change for Sam though. Amid Sam’s career changes, her marriage to husband Richard was also crumbling.
Sam and Richard quietly split in late 2024, with the confirmation of their separation coming in December 2024.
Head-to-head with Sunrise
Since she joined Nine, Sam’s main role has been hosting The Golden Bachelor. The second season of the dating show recently wrapped filming in Sydney, so Sam is currently “light on duties”, says our source, which puts her in good stead to slot in to Today.
If Sam does score Sarah’s maternity role, it wouldn’t be the first time that she has stepped in for the 40-year-old brunette.
Sam filled in for Sarah on Today during the festive period the last two years. Over the 2025 break, she co-hosted with Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli. Network executives are said to have been happy with her performance.
“It would be marvellous to see if Sam can pull in some audience from her former home at Sunrise. It’s just the type of stunt Nine needs,” New Idea‘s source dishes.
Does Nine need a Karl replacement too?
The chatter about Sarah’s temporary replacement comes amid a time of rumoured turmoil for Today.
Sarah’s co-host Karl Stefanovic could also be leaving the show, to focus on his own new baby, his podcast, which is independent of Nine.
Karl has just 10 months remaining on his current contract. He has previously stated that he has no interest in doing the show without Sarah.
Karl also told the now-defunct The Kyle and Jackie O Show earlier this year, “I don’t even know what I’m doing next year”.