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How Karl Stefanvoic lured Lisa Wilkinson to Nine’s Today show after she became VERY close to becoming a huge Channel Seven star
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Channel Seven’s Larry Emdur has revealed that Lisa Wilkinson came very close to co-hosting The Morning Show on the network, instead of Kylie Gillies.
The popular star, 57, told the surprise story during an interview on the I’ve Got News for You podcast on Friday while promote his new memoir, Happy As.
Larry said it was Today show host Karl Stefanovic, 47, who lured Lisa to Channel Nine.
Channel Seven’s Larry Emdur, left, has revealed that Lisa Wilkinson, right, came very close to co-hosting The Morning Show on the network, instead of Kylie Gillies
Lisa had auditioned for the role of The Morning Show co-host and a few weeks later Larry introduced her to Karl during the Logies Awards.
Describing Karl as having ‘sneaky ways’, he recalled how he ‘somehow dragged Lisa over to the Today show.’
Podcast host Andrew Bucklow asked Larry whether he was pi**d at Karl for ‘stealing’ his co-host away.
Larry said it was Today show host Karl Stefanovic, 47, who lured Lisa to Channel Nine
‘He stole more than that from over the years, sneaky bugger,’ Larry joked.
The Chase Australia host said Karl saw the move as a ‘victory at the time.’
He explained with Lisa out of the running there were a few more auditions ‘and we eventually landed with Kylie on the couch’.
‘That was just a magnificent result,’ Larry said affectionately of his 55-year-old co-host of 15-years.
Larry added that Lisa made the right move for her career at the time.
Lisa, 62, co-hosted the Today show with Karl for ten years until 2017, before leaving to join Channel 10’s news and current affairs panel show, The Project.
Larry and co-host Kylie Gillies – they have shared the Morning Show couch for 15 years
A rift between Lisa and Karl began late last year when Lisa released her memoir, It Wasn’t Meant to Be Like This.
She claims her co-host played rival networks Nine and Seven off against each other in order to secure a better deal for himself, while she was left in the dust.
Lisa was soon at the centre of a bidding war between Nine and Seven that resulted in him re-signing a five-year deal with Nine worth at least $2million per year.
Her deal was worth significantly less, about $780,000 a year, and was only for two years. She was reportedly pushed out the door by Nine executives in 2017.
Larry shows off his newly released memoir Happy As