At the 2007 Logies, Lisa Wilkinson was faced with a momentous decision. Should she stay at Network Seven and join The Morning Show or should she jump ship and become co-host of the controversial Today show?
Speaking to Stellar, Wilkinson admits that she hadn’t met Karl Stefanovic before, but a conversation she had with the Today show host at the bar during the Logies, cemented her choice.
When Larry Emdur introduced the pair that night they just clicked. Wilkinson was waiting in line at the bar, stewing over her decision, when Emdur approached her.
“Aren’t you the most talked-about girl in the room?” he joked.
“I don’t know what to do,” Wilkinson replied, “I haven’t even met Karl Stefanovic yet”.
So Emdur turned to the man standing behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Lisa,” he said, “I want you to meet Karl.”
“We made each other laugh,” Wilkinson told Stellar. “I went to bed that night deciding I was going to do this thing.”
Wilkinson understood the power of breakfast TV and she was attracted to Today’s news and current affair’s content – and the conversation with Karl just confirmed her instincts – this was the right gig for her.
When Wilkinson first appeared on Today in May 2007, she was its fifth female co-host in 18 months. She replaced Jessica Rowe – who was widely criticised in the role – but it seems Wilkinson and Stefanovic were a match made in breakfast TV heaven.
“It was easy right from the start,” Stefanovic told Stellar. “When we started out, we were both very jovial people, we wanted to please. After a little while, you really relax into each other, you get to know each other’s foibles and winning formulas.”
Lisa Wilkinson on Marriage, Karl & Her Latest Project. Post continues…
“Over time we started to get to know each other on a much deeper level, and the presenting was enriched by that.”
Later this month Lisa will celebrate her 10 year anniversary at Today.