Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has revealed that he returned to work two weeks earlier than planned after a cheeky comment from his wife.

He had been taking a holiday over the Christmas and New Year's period but revealed his wife was the reason for his early return.

“To be honest, Cath said to me last night ‘you’re on the phone, 20 hours a day, you should just go back’,” he told reporters when asked about his unplanned return on Thursday.

This is due to Andrews monitoring the recent coronavirus spike in Victoria from home.

“I’ve been at home. About 25 minutes from here,” he said.

“So yes, I did not plan on being here with you today, but I am almost sure I think I was due to come back on about the 20th.

“It’s not about me, I’m not, I’m not seeking your collective sympathy. Their job is a job to be done … I’ve been following things very closely and very actively and this is the right thing to do.”

The premier came under fire for taking leave as Victoria recorded its first cases of community transmission in 61 days.

"Why is Dan Andrews on holidays? I'm sure we all remember the outrage last year when Scott Morrison went on leave," one man tweeted.

Another added: "Where is the faithful leader Dictator now? Martin Foley, said Victoria is in a crisis right now, panicking, scared, all the leftards wanted to smash Scott Morrison for being on his pre-arranged holiday. Where is the Dictator?"