'Something had to give': Danika Mason departs Today Show
"I won’t be coming back to the show."
Today Show sports presenter Danika Mason announced on Friday that she is leaving the Nine breakfast show.
After two years on air, she said “something had to give” as she juggles her NRL commitments and prepares to welcome her first child with her husband, former NRL player Liam Knight.
Mason said: "Bit of news from me... I’m going on maternity leave. "
“I’ve had to make the decision as to whether what I do when I come back next year… obviously juggling all my NRL commitments, [the] Today show, and then a new baby as well.
"Something had to give, so I’ve made a pretty tough decision... when I return next year, I won’t be coming back to the show.”
“I’ve absolutely loved my time with everyone. We have the best audience, we have the best team, and it has been an absolute, just such a fun two years, and everyone who is in here in the morning, all our floor crew, you guys are just amazing, and I’ve had the best time,” she said.
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Tom Steinfort said: "We’re going to miss you, they [the audience] are going to miss you. The beauty of you is what you see is what you get. You are such a beautiful person, and we are so excited for you and Liam.
Sylvia Jeffreys added: “It’s just like the Avengers, you’re a part of the Today Show universe.”
Looking ahead, Mason added: "You never know what can happen in the future. For now, we are so excited about the next chapter."
Mediaweek has reached out to Nine for comment.
“I was just thinking the world's worst”
Earlier this year, Mason shared new details of the fallout from her viral Winter Olympics moment.
During a live cross from the games in February, Mason attracted the world's attention as she seemed to have trouble with her speech and randomly discussed coffee prices, with hosts Karl Stefanovic and Jayne Azzopardi on the Today show.
Later that week, she revealed she had been drinking alcohol before the cross, and apologised to the public.
Speaking on Triple M Rocks Footy NRL back in July, Mason admitted: “I obviously knew straight away I had screwed up."
She added, "The next 24 hours I was just in a spiral. I was just thinking the world's worst - well, this is my job gone, this is this gone."
Mason also revealed the "insane" support she got from the NRL community, and from colleague Andrew Johns, with whom she does the 'Immortal Behaviour' podcast.
"The rugby league community that was calling me was insane," she said. "I remember Joey - Andrew Johns - he rings me and Kate, his wife, is in the background. He's like 'even Kate found it funny' and I was like 'oh God'.
“He was incredible, he kept FaceTiming, checking in. [But] I can't watch it back.”
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