After eight years as co-host of Sunrise, Samantha Armytage today gave a tearful farewell as she presented her last show.
She announced her decision to leave the show on Monday: “The time has come for the sun to set on my time at Sunrise. I have always been brave and fearless in my career and this decision is no different.
“I want to take a break and find some peace and calm. I go out of this job at a time of my own choosing and on top of the ratings, which not many people on television can say they do.
“I cannot thank you all enough for having me in your lounge rooms all these years.”
Her final show included highlights of her years on Sunrise, including the serious and not-so-serious moments. There were well wishes from politicians and celebrities, and a video call from her sister and niece, who are in lockdown in London. She was also joined on set by her husband, Richard Lavender, whom she married just recently.
In her farewell messages, thanking production staff, reporters, make up artists and fellow colleagues, Armytage also gave a parting shot in response to some of the negative press she has received in recent times: “I do want to say that I never fully understood some of the scrutiny and the snarkiness and bullying from some aspect of the media but today we move on from that because there is a new chapter starting.”
Armytage joined Seven in 2003, after working at WIN and Sky News in Canberra, as reporter and news presenter. In 2007 she replaced Lisa Wilkinson as co-host of Weekend Sunrise, after Wilkinson left to go to the Nine Network, and was appointed co-host of Sunrise in 2013.
Future plans for Armytage, who remains at Seven, remain unannounced. Likewise, her replacement at Sunrise is also yet to be known.
