Where’s Karl? Deborah Knight makes a shock return to the Today show… after she and former co-host Georgie Gardner were unceremoniously axed
Deborah Knight and former co-host Georgie Gardner were unceremoniously axed from the Today show last year, after suffering dismal ratings.
But on Friday, Deborah made a shock return to the breakfast program.
The 47-year-old sat in the hosting chair to fill in for Karl Stefanovic, who had the day off for the Good Friday public holiday.
Where’s Karl? Deborah Knight made a shock return to the Today show on Friday to co-host alongside Alex Cullen (pictured)… after she and former co-host Georgie Gardner were unceremoniously axed
Deborah co-hosted the program alongside Today star Alex Cullen and looked at ease as she presented segments and even conducted interviews live on air.
Karl, co-host Allison Langdon and entertainment reporter Brooke Boney all had Good Friday off, which left Deborah, Alex, Lara Vella and Richard Wilkins to take over the helm.
On Thursday, Deborah spoke about her return to the Today show and joked that she could be a ‘little rusty’ on air because of the early start.
She’s a natural: Deborah looked at ease as she presented segments and even conducted interviews live on air
Off: Karl, co-host Allison Langdon (pictured) and entertainment reporter Brooke Boney all had Good Friday off
Sharing a picture of herself on Instagram hosting A Current Affair, Deborah wrote: ‘In the A Current Affair hot seat tonight!’
‘Tune in. And last years alarm is back – in the chair for the Today show for Good Friday. Could be rusty…’
It seems fans loved Deborah being back in the hosting seat of the program, with one remarking underneath her post: ‘Great to see you on the Today show again.’
She’s back: On Thursday, Deborah spoke about her return to the Today show and joked that she could be a ‘little rusty’ on air because of the early start
Loving it: It seems fans loved Deborah being back in the hosting seat of the program, with one remarking underneath her post: ‘Great to see you on the Today show again’
Another remarked that Deb is a ‘class act.’
In November 2019, Nine announced their decision to axe Georgie and Deborah from their breakfast TV hosting duties.
At the time, Georgie said she was shocked by the network’s decision to sack her and Deborah and reinstate Karl, who had previously been axed in December 2018.
‘I was consulted two weeks ago about the future direction of the Today show and naturally I’m disappointed with the outcome,’ she said at the time.
Given the boot: In November 2019, Nine announced their decision to axe Georgie and Deborah from their breakfast TV hosting duties
In January, Karl and Allison spoke about replacing Deborah and Georgie, saying there were no hard feelings.
‘They are good sports… they were two of the first people to actually send me a message saying congrats and good luck,’ Allison said.
‘Deb gave me a call… yeah, they were wonderful.’
Meanwhile, Karl joked about how lucky both Georgie and Deborah were that they no longer had to wake up so early for work.
‘They are not in the building anymore… while we are, because they actually get up at a reasonable hour now,’ he said with a laugh.
Deborah now hosts the coveted afternoon time slot on 2GB and 4BC on weekdays and is still a newsreader for Nine.
‘They’re good sports’: In January, Karl and Allison spoke about replacing Deborah and Georgie, saying there were no hard feelings