Channel Nine has announced that popular journalist Sophie Walsh will replace Jayne Azzopardi as co-host of Weekend Today, alongside Clint Stanaway.
Walsh, 38, a veteran of Nine News, steps into her new role after Azzopardi, 44, filled the news and entertainment role at Today.
The position became vacant after Brooke Boney quit her job on Friday to move to the United Kingdom to study.
Walsh is best known to viewers as a news presenter on Weekend Today, a role she has held since early 2023.
“I am thrilled to be hosting alongside my good friend Clint, who is not only a brilliant journalist but also a master of the unexpected,” Sophie said in a statement about her new role.
‘We’ve had so many wonderful moments together on Weekend Today and I’m looking forward to taking on my new role and offering our viewers an authentic and fun start to their weekend.’
Before joining Weekend Today, Walsh was European correspondent for Nine News.
She made headlines in 2020 when she was attacked live on the radio (and off-screen) while reporting on a violent street protest in the UK
Channel Nine has announced that popular journalist Sophie Walsh will replace Jayne Azzopardi as co-host of Weekend Today. (Pictured)
Walsh began her career at WIN TV in Bundaberg, Queensland, before taking a high-profile job at Nine News in Sydney in 2009.
It’s been a while since Today presenter Brooke Boney bid farewell to her viewers on Friday, with tears in her eyes, before she moved to the UK to study at the prestigious University of Oxford.
The 37-year-old news and entertainment reporter, who joined Channel Nine’s breakfast program in January 2019, received flowers from her colleagues when she made a heartfelt statement live on air.
Walsh, 38, will serve as chair alongside regular co-host Clint Stanaway
“I want to thank the audience for accepting me. I am grateful for each and every one of you who tune in every day,” Brooke began.
“It’s a privilege to go to Oxford, but it’s even more of a privilege to have so much love around me. It makes it hard to leave.”
The veteran presenter added that her appointment to the show was a huge milestone for Indigenous Australians and thanked the team for giving her a chance.
‘Today was the first breakfast show in the country to have an Aboriginal host full-time. Now it’s very normal to do that in this time slot, and I’m proud of that.’
Presenter Karl Stefanovic, 50, then paid tribute to Brooke with some touching words: “We love you and everything you represent, and how hard you work. You have such an instant connection with everyone.”
Meanwhile, co-host Sarah Abo, 38, said they are so proud of Brooke and wished her all the best for the future.
In March, Boney shocked viewers when she announced her resignation on live television.
Nine News veteran Walsh steps into her new role after Azzopardi, 44, (left) left to take up the news and entertainment role at Today
The reporter confirmed that she will step down after the Olympic Games in July and August to pursue a new, promising career opportunity.
Boney burst into tears when she announced in March that she would be leaving today and moving abroad to pursue a Masters in Public Policy at the prestigious University of Oxford.
On Tuesday, Channel Nine confirmed that Jayne Azzopardi, who co-presents Weekend Today with Clint Stanaway, will replace Boney.
Today’s news and entertainment editor position has been left vacant by Brooke Boney (pictured), who resigned from her job on Friday to move to Oxford University in the UK.
Steven Burling, Nine’s director of morning television, said the network was “thrilled” to welcome Azzopardi to Today as news director.
Azzopardi, 44, joined Nine in 2009 as a political journalist in Canberra before moving to the Sydney newsroom in 2011.
She was previously a newsreader for Weekend Today and was appointed presenter in April 2023.