This is the farewell the Today Show should have given Lisa Wilkinson.

Everyone has a “Lisa Wilkinson” moment. A recollection of an interview, a monologue, a chat with her co-hosts when you’ve thought – yes, that’s what I’m feeling. 

For 10 years, as she co-hosted The Today Show, Wilkinson has informed us on everything from celebrity drama to political news, adding insight and perspective to the issues facing Australians.

Yesterday, we learned the 57-year-old was leaving her seat on the morning show, and that – because Channel Nine allegedly chose to sever ties immediately after they’d failed to reach an agreement (i.e. equality) regarding her pay – she wouldn’t be able to farewell her fans on air.

“I’m sad to say that today was my last day on The Today Show,” Wilkinson posted to Twitter, alongside a statement from Channel Nine.

I have some news. I’m sad to say that today was my last day on @the today show. The following statement is from Channel Nine… pic.twitter.com/B3IVDAfkSm

— Lisa Wilkinson (@Lisa_Wilkinson) October 16, 2017

This morning, we were holding our breath as Today went to air.

We were waiting, waiting for someone – particularly the man who has sat beside her for 10 years, Karl Stefanovic – to react to the news. “It came as quite a shock,” he said while reading headlines regarding Wilkinson’s “shock resignation” as the show started.

Finally, at 7:30am – two hours into the show – Wilkinson was given a farewell from the network she served so valiantly.

“For 10 years she handled the early hours with a grace, beauty, intelligence and wicked sense of humour,” Stefanovic told the audience as a video montage began.

“Thank you for the laughs, the sage advice, the calmness, oh, the calmness,” he continued. “Thank you for all of your support. Thank you for being a great colleague. Thanks for being a great interviewer. Thanks for being a great dancer and a truly, truly terrible singer. Thanks for being a great mum – I know you value that more than anything else. And thank you for being a great friend.”

Stefanovic said he would see her soon – “maybe after midday” – and encouraged her to go with “lots of love, all of my love” and “enjoy the sleep ins”.

So now, as Wilkinson leaves her seat on the morning show and moves to Channel 10, we look back at (just some) of her best moments “waking us up with Today” from the past decade.

When she addressed Australia’s alcohol problem in the most effective way possible.

It was a news story about Australians drinking too much, and Lisa Wilkinson had the perfect anecdote.

“My husband gave up drinking three years ago,” she told the nation. “He lost fifty kilograms and he’s never been fitter or healthier or more fun to be married to.”

Its honesty, more than anything, cut through the statistics. So many women – and men – could relate.

When she went head to head with Tony Abbott.

Wilkinson was questioning the then-Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott about a smear campaign against then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her work, 17 years prior, at law firm Slater and Gordon.

“She did answer every single question that came her way,”Wilkinson told Abbott, referring to a press conference Gillard had hosted for the sole purpose of answering questions about Slater and Gordon. “Is that the end of it?”

“Whether or not she was an untrustworthy worthy lawyer is not the issue. I think that this Prime Minister is an untrustworthy head of government,” Abbott replied, before saying he would have to “read the transcript” of the press conference”.

“But Mr Abbott you’ve always said she has ‘questions to answer on this issue’ why would you not watch the press conference?”

He said he was planning on it.

“But are you going to watch it yourself or are you going to get someone else to do that for you?” Wilkinson continued.

When Abbott said he had a “lot on his plate” she fired back: “Given that this has been a huge issue, particularly in the last week, isn’t it important that you address this and either move on or ask further questions yourself?”

She also caught Abbott in a lie when she asked him if he’d read a report from BHP regarding an extension of a mine at the time. He replied he had the previous afternoon.

“Then why did you tell Leigh Sales on last night’s 7:30 Report that you hadn’t read it?” Lisa said.

“There were a lot of rapid-fire questions,” he replied.

“Hmm that one was pretty clear,” she countered.

Listen: Lisa Wilkinson on marriage, Karl and her latest project. Post continues below…

When she was the ultimate professional while Karl was still drunk after the Logies.

It was the morning after the 2009 Logie Awards and co-host Stefanovic was clearly struggling – he later admitted he was “still drunk” at the time.

“Your husband is a lucky man,” Stefanovic told Wilkinson as the cameras were rolling. “I must say you look very nice today.”

“Oh shush,” Wilkinson replied, staring at the camera and maintaining a poker face even when her co-host got the giggles mid-way through the weather.

When she underwent a mammogram live on national television.

She and news presenter Georgie Gardner got a mammogram on television in a bid to raise awareness around breast cancer in Australia.

“I’m really glad to be doing it with Georgie. I think it’s a good thing to do with your girlfriends,” Wilkinson told viewers at the time.

Though Wilkinson’s scan was clear, the test did reveal cysts in her breast tissue, and there was a moment she was worried.

“Just as we were about to leave, the nurse who was taking such wonderful care of us throughout the morning said ‘Lisa would you mind just coming over here for a moment’,” Wilkinson told A Current Affair’s Tracy Grimshaw in a later interview.

“The first thing I said was ‘I don’t think I prepared for this’. I hadn’t actually thought what happens if there is a problem with the mammogram.”

Her reaction to a 93-year-old looking forward to her wedding night.

It was a happy news story: 93-year-old Sylvia was marrying 88-year-old Frank.

They’d been engaged for several years and, when Sylvia confided she was looking forward to “laying on top of Frank” after the ceremony, both co-hosts lost it.

“Did she really say that?” Wilkinson laughed. “Sylvia, GO Sylvia.”

“I love her. When you’re 93 years old, you can say whatever you want. And we’re thrilled for both of you.”

When she was filmed singing along to ‘Georgy Girl’ during the ad break.

We’ll just leave this here…

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