Channel Nine’s Leila McKinnon discusses her ‘great chat’ with Prince William

Channel Nine reporter Leila McKinnon has interviewed politicians, notable sports stars and celebrities throughout her esteemed journalism career.

But it was her encounter with Prince William in 2012 that made a special impact on her.

The 48-year-old spoke to Catherine Mahoney’s podcast So I Quit My Day Job about an interview she did with Princes William and Harry as part of Nine’s London Olympics coverage. 

She explained that the interview was not to be promoted by the network and intended to be a surprise for viewers. 

Leila, who was 27 weeks pregnant at the time, described their interview as a ‘great chat’ and said both the Princes ‘were really happy’.

She said they enjoyed the interview because it was wide-ranging with a particular focus on their charity work.

The respected journalist noted that her pregnancy was a detail that William remembered later on.

Months later, Leila’s fellow Channel Nine reporter Davina Smith covered The Cambridges tour of The Solomon Islands in 2012 and managed to have a quick word with the Prince. 

She recalled: ‘[Davina] said, “I’m Davina [Smith] from Channel Nine” and [Prince William] said, “Oh, has Leila had her baby?” I know, I made a big impact.’

Leila began her career with Channel Nine back in 1995, and she married David Gyngell in 2004. The couple then moved to Los Angeles in 2006.

They returned to Australia a year later, when David was appointed CEO of the Nine Network. He resigned from the role in 2015.

She then resumed her role at Nine, working across a variety of programs at the network.

The couple share two children – son Ted, nine, and daughter Gwendolen, seven.