According to a network executive, top dog Karl Stefanovic has also been desperate to leave the morning program for some time but is being held ‘like a hostage’.
The anonymous executive spoke to The Saturday Telegraph, stating that a decade of 3am alarms has become more than enough for the 43-year-old, and despite his multi-million dollar pay package, Karl is ready to move on.
Sources believe the star is now the favourite to replace Tracy Grimshaw on Nine's A Current Affair when she either retires or takes a spot on 60 Minutes.
'Karl has been begging to get off there forever and surprise, surprise, the joint has imploded because they never listened to this bloke,' a network insider told the publication.
'They haven't let him off and he's been like a hostage.’
'There is a strong possibility that Tracy moves from A Current Affair, either to call it a day or to do special features on 60 Minutes, and that way Karl goes in to ACA and it leaves a clean slate for the morning.'
he executive added: 'They will be holding out until the end of the year, so they are not rushing into making a decision.'