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Karl: TV break brings new perspective

"It was a relief in many ways... that I was taken off the Today show," admits gun-shy presenter.

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Karl Stefanovic has embraced stepping back into the limelight, appearing at the Logie Awards on the weekend, claiming the break was just what he needed.

The former Today show host walked the Logies red carpet, sat at a Nine table and spoke at the network’s annual recovery brunch yesterday.

“I had a terrific night, it was good to be back,” he told media and guests.

“It’s been about six months since I was on the telly, and I needed to have a rest. Towards the end of last year, I was cooked,” he said yesterday.

“It had taken its toll, at the end of last year. A lot of the unwarranted attention I thought, and you can’t control any of that, I’m not going to complain too much about all of that. But what it meant was that in a work capacity I don’t believe for a second that I was at my best.

“I think I was struggling towards the end of last year.”

He took a pragmatic approach to being dumped from Today.

“So it wasn’t a great surprise to me. In fact it was a relief in many ways… that I was taken off the Today show. Because I just wasn’t at my best and you can’t be doing that show unless you are at the top of your game,” he said.

“You’ve got to be sharp, you’ve got to be witty, you’ve got to be funny, you’ve got to see the angles, and to be honest, towards the end of last year I wasn’t seeing much.”

The break allowed some new perspective including to focus on the human stories of those facing bigger challenges on This Time Next Year.

“To be able to sit down and listen to real peoples’ stories and people taking on real things in life, it allowed me to actually listen, concentrate, be empathetic and also to direct their promises and pledges in a very different way than what I was able to do in the past.

“So it was great.”

This Time Next Year is expected in August while Stefanovic is also resuming stories for 60 Minutes.

5 Responses

  1. Like many here, I’m not a Karl fan. But I thought the relentless digs at him at the Logies went a bit far. One or two jokes is fine, then it just becomes cruel.

  2. Totally with Carole, Jude and Gaz here. I’ve neither been a fan nor had nothing against him either but totally recognise the scrutiny he was under and wish him well. Kudos to him for the honesty.

  4. I have never been a huge fan of Karls but it was really nice and kind of refreshing to see him back on my TV screen again on Sunday night. I think its about time some people found someone else to aim their jokes at though, getting very tiresome !

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