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Samantha Armytage has announced she is quitting Sunrise.
Armytage broke down in tears as she dropped the bombshell live on air this morning. Her last show will be this Thursday.
“I have some big news to announce,” Armytage said. “The time has come for the sun to set on my time at Sunrise. I have always been very brave and fearless in my life and my career and this decision is no different.”
Armytage said the death of her mum last November and her recent wedding to Richard Lavender contributed to her decision to leave the show.
RELATED: Sam Armytage shares cheeky snap from her wedding day
“As many of you know, my personal life the last six months has been very bittersweet. Some bits have been very happy and some bits have been very, very sad and I want to step out of this public world for a while, take some time and calm things down, enjoy a bit of slow living and spend some time with my precious family and husband and Banjo (her dog).”
Armytage stressed she made the decision to leave and was not pushed out of the job.
“I go out of this job at a time of my own choosing and on top of the ratings which not many people in television can say they do,” she said. “I’m extremely proud of my almost eight years at the helm of Sunrise, my seven years before that at Weekend Sunrise and my almost 18 years with the Seven network.
“My mother used to say to me, ‘edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It is your masterpiece after all,’ and that’s precisely what I’m doing,” Armytage said.
“This is a chapter, it’s not the whole story and I have a few days left to say goodbye to you all.”
Armytage thanked viewers for “having me in your lounge rooms all these years” and added: “Now it is time for me to spend a bit of time in my own lounge room.”
“After I take a break, and only after I feel refreshed, will I decide on my next chapter,” she said.
Channel 7 said in a statement that Armytage will remain with the network and will return with new projects.
“We wish Sam nothing but the very best for her break and look forward to announcing some exciting new projects for her in late 2021 and into 2022,” Seven West Media managing director and chief executive officer James Warburton said.
Sunrise co-host David ‘Kochie’ Koch said in a statement that he was supportive of Armytage’s decision.
“Sam’s humour, work ethic and team first values have been an inspiration to us all,” he said. “But now it’s time for Sam to put herself and Rich first and we couldn’t be happier for, or more supportive of, them both.”
WHO WILL REPLACE SAM ON SUNRISE
Speculation is already rife as to who will replace Armytage as Kochie’s co-host.
Industry site TV Blackbox is reporting that the job will be given to Natalie Barr who is currently the Sunrise newsreader.
Barr has been a part of the Sunrise family for more than 15 years.
CLUES SAM WAS GOING TO LEAVE
Armytage has been dropping clues all year that she was thinking of quitting Sunrise.
During a radio interview in January, KIIS FM’s Jackie O told Armytage she sensed she “might give up Sunrise at some stage.”
“Well I’m under contract, so I can’t,” Armytage sighed, before correcting herself: “ … but I’m very happy at my job!”
Armytage admitted she could “easily” see herself quitting Sunrise “down the track” for a full-time life with her husband in the country.
“There’s a lot of adrenaline in TV or anything live, and I would miss that. But at the same time, you don’t want that adrenaline all the time, because I don’t think that’s good for you. I’ve been a journo for 22 years … I’m very old.”
Armytage dropped another clue earlier this month in an interview with Stellar magazine.
“I don’t think any of us want to do the same thing forever. There’s a lot about television that’s all about you and that’s an awful way to live your life. TV isn’t a place that’s necessarily very healthy,” she told interviewer Angela Mollard, before saying with a grin: “It’s full of sociopaths and narcissists – it can be a dangerous environment, let me tell you.”
SAM’S NEW PODCAST
Armytage recently launched a podcast with News Corp’s Stellar called Something To Talk About with Samantha Armytage. The first episode featured Hugh Sheridan and the second, which was published yesterday, features former deputy prime minister Julie Bishop.
You can listen below.
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