Natalie Barr has been confirmed as Samantha Armytage’s replacement on Seven’s top-rating breakfast show Sunrise.
Barr was widely tipped to replace Armytage given she has been Sunrise’s newsreader and a fill-in co-host for the past 18 years. She will start her new role alongside long serving co-host David Koch on Monday.
Sunrise’s new co-host Natalie Barr.Credit:Louie Douvis
Sunrise’s executive producer, Michael Pell, confirmed the announcement in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Barr, 52, was born in Bunbury, Western Australia, and moved to Perth to study journalism at Curtin University. She got her start in journalism at a community newspaper before moving to the United States to work for several local TV networks. She joined Seven in 1994 after earning a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award nomination for her coverage of the OJ Simpson car chase.
Barr joined the Sunrise team in 2003 after proving popular as a summer fill-in presenter. She is married and lives in NSW with her two sons, Lachlan and Hunter.
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Armytage tearily announced her resignation live on-air on Monday. She signed-off for the final time on Thursday, explaining she wished to take a step back from public life following the death of her mother and her marriage to millionaire businessman Richard Lavender.
The Seven Network’s chairman, Kerry Stokes, has said Armytage will continue to be “part of the Seven family”.
More to come
