Sunrise star Katie Brown had an awkward moment on Wednesday that left the popular reporter red-faced.
The 32-year-old journalist was interviewing students during a live cross-over at a western Sydney school about their HSC results when she mistook a teacher for a student.
Katie was walking through a large group of students enjoying a post-HSC celebration when the hiccup occurred.
She had just finished talking to a student at St John Paul II Catholic College in Schofields when she tapped the shoulder of a woman nearby.
“Who do we have here,” Katie asked.
After the teacher identified herself as Mrs Canning, Katie cheekily asked her about her HSC results.
Sunrise star Katie Brown had an awkward moment on Wednesday that left the popular reporter red-faced. The 32-year-old journalist was interviewing students during a live cross-over at a western Sydney school about their HSC results when she mistook a teacher for a student
Katie was walking through a large group of students enjoying a post-HSC celebration when the hiccup occurred
However, the teacher refused to play along and shifted focus to highlight her student’s achievements.
‘I’m really proud of them. “They did really well and worked really hard,” she said.
Katie quickly recovered and said to the young teacher, “You’re aging very well too, I thought you were a student.”
It’s not the first time Kate’s natural style has led to a cringeworthy moment at Brekkie Central.
In April, Sunrise presenters Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington were left speechless at an O’Brien Icehouse weathercross as Katie rattled off several hockey-related puns.
Katie was joined during the segment by Melbourne Ice team coach Kerry Goulet for a light-hearted chat before reading the weather forecast.
But things went downhill when Katie started dropping several “puck” puns.
“I hear a lot of squeaking here… Am I going to be abandoned?” she joked.
The cameras then cut back to hosts Barr, 56, and Shirvington, 45, who both looked unamused.
“That’s too much,” Shrivo said softly, shaking his head, as Barr tried to brush off the puns with a nervous laugh.
But the jokes continued, with Goulet telling Katie she would be ‘pucked’ if she acted as goalkeeper.
‘Line of the day. Let’s not get carried away, Katie,” Shirvo said.
‘Precisely!’ Barr agreed.
Katie was quickly rejected after asking the teacher about her HSC results
Katie became popular when she filled in for regular weather reporter Sam Mac in 2022.
In 2023, she scored a high-profile gig as a ‘roving reporter’ for the top-rated breakfast show and regularly appears in humorous and light-hearted segments.
In November that year, it was claimed that Katie would take over as sports presenter on the breakfast show in 2025.
The journalist expected to single out breakfast show veteran Mark Beretta, who has worked with the Channel Seven program on and off since 2000.
According to an insider, Katie is being guided to move into the sports broadcaster’s role after his new two-year contract expires, Woman’s Day reported.
“Katie is just a country boy who appeals to all audiences because of her no-nonsense style,” they told the publication on Monday.
They went on to say that “a few people behind the scenes have quietly expressed that Mark’s flashy lifestyle may not always resonate with viewers.”
“The irony of it all is that Beretta is one of Katie’s biggest supporters and has almost been a mentor to her,” she added.
At the time the reports emerged, Mark had only just signed a new contract to stay at Sunrise for another two years, with some raising eyebrows at the short duration of the deal.