Sam Mac, Nat Barr and Lisa Wilkinson on Kochie’s departure
Kochie's breakfast show colleagues, and former rivals, have shared their well wishes for the veteran TV presenter after his shock retirement announcement.
On Monday morning's episode of Sunrise, Kochie announced he would be stepping back from the show, with his last day in the hosting chair to be June 9th.
Viewers were shocked by the retirement announcement, as Sunrise social media accounts were flooded with messages from loyal viewers.
Kochie also received messages of support from his famous friends, as Lisa Wilkinson congratulated him on his astonishing career in the media.
She wrote on Twitter, “Huge congrats to @kochie_online on a stellar 21yrs on @sunriseon7.”
Huge congrats to @kochie_online on a stellar 21yrs on @sunriseon7
I was lucky enough to work with Kochie in my early brekky TV years & he really is all class. His generosity on & off camera continuing long after I left to join @TheTodayShow
Enjoy those sleep-ins Kochie.👏👏👏
— Lisa Wilkinson (@Lisa_Wilkinson) May 29, 2023
“I was lucky enough to work with Kochie in my early brekky TV years & he really is all class. His generosity on & off camera continuing long after I left to join @TheTodayShow."
"Enjoy those sleep-ins Kochie.”
Nat Barr paid tribute to her co-host later on Monday morning's show, sharing that she and Kochie have been working side by side for 20 years.
"The show would not be what it is today without you. It’s been an amazing ride and we’re going to celebrate that in the next two weeks,” Barr said on air, referring to Koch’s last day.
“It was not just me who was crying – it was so you as well. Don’t blame it on me."
Sunrise newsreader Edwina Bartholomew also shared the impact Kochie has had on her career, saying it had been the "greatest pleasure" to work together.
“He is one-of-a-kind. Exactly the same on TV as he is off-air,” she wrote on Instagram.
“An incredible mentor to so many of us at @sunriseon7. My very first job on the show was helping him locate a suitably awful and vaguely appropriate ‘Joke of the Day.’”
“I will always look up to him (literally) as a broadcaster but mostly as a father and grandfather. Family is everything to Kochie, and it’s so wonderful he now gets to spend more time with Lib and the kids.”
Sunrise’s sports presenter Mark Beretta also sent his well wishes to Kochie online.
“Kochie, you have made an enormous contribution to changing the entire tone of breakfast TV for the better,” Beretta wrote
“Your generosity, honesty and care for others has made a massive impact on so many. I could never have wished for a better mentor and mate. Love you so much mate. Enjoy this new chapter and thanks so much for all you have given us over so many years.”
Sunrise weather reporter Sam Mac shared an exchange between him and Kochie after Mac's very first day on the job in 2015.
The supportive message praised Mac's weather reporting, as Mac captioned the screenshot, “This was my FIRST Day EVER on Sunrise!” Sam captioned the screenshot. “I didn’t even have the job yet... I had no idea if I fitted in or if I’d bombed spectacularly.”
“The only piece of feedback I got that day was from the star of the show, Kochie! (he went to the trouble of finding my number). It may seem like a simple gesture, but in the cutthroat biz of TV, this level of support & kindness is surprisingly rare."
“That message meant so much to me, and tells you everything about Kochie’s character.”
Image credits: Instagram