When David ‘Kochie’ Koch announced he was leaving Sunrise after co-hosting the breakfast show for 21 years, everyone wondered who would replace him.
And Kochie along with his co-host Natalie Barr have just announced live on air that former Olympian Matt Shirvington will take over Kochie’s role.
WATCH: Behind the scenes of Sunrise with Nat and Kochie
Matt has worked on Sunrise since 2020 as a sports presenter and fill-in host.
When Kochie and Nat revealed the news, they asked Matt how he felt about about becoming the permanent co-host of Sunrise.
“Um… mixed emotions. Just amazing. Daunted. So excited. Happy. Cannot tell you the honour and privilege this is, Kochie, particularly. A huge job. A huge job. And an exciting job,” he said.
Kochie replied, “You are absolutely perfect for us. What we do always is when you’re a member of the family, you stay a member of the family, don’t you. And you come through. And you’ve been fantastic filling in and every Friday, it’s been sensational. You are going to been sensational. You are going to be the perfect fit.”
He then asked Matt, “What have you loved about doing Sunrise?”
“You touched on it there. It’s such a family. It’s a family show. It’s a mouthpiece for all Australians and their stories, and the thing I love their stories, and the thing I love the most is sitting on this couch, and going from complete elation and excitement and happiness with some of the stories that you hear about, to the heartbreak and the horror and the sadness, and wiping a tear from your eye and moving on. It’s a phenomenal thing,” Matt responded.
WATCH: David Koch announces he’s stepping down from Sunrise
“The depth of this team that Sunrise has, from the control room, our producers, to the on-air family as well. They’re passionate,” he continued.
In a formal statement, Matt said of his new role:
“A big thank you to the Seven executive team, in particular James Warburton and Craig McPherson, for backing me to do this. Sunrise is a tight-knit team of talented and passionate people who work ridiculously hard – none more so than Sarah Stinson and Sean Power. I admire you all and won’t let you down.
“This is a huge life shift for me that will take some juggling at home, and something I couldn’t have done without the loving support of Jess [Shirvington] and our kids.
“To my new on-air family, particularly Nat, thanks for making me feel so welcome right from the start. Brekky Central, my new home. I like the sound of that!”
Kochie’s last show will be on Friday, June 9 and then Matt will take over from Monday, June 12.
