Peter Stefanovic back after seven months of ‘funemployment’

After seven months off the box, Peter Stefanovic is raring to go ahead of making his return to our television screens early Monday morning. READ HOW HE HANDLED THE ENFORCED BREAK.

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After seven months off the box, Peter Stefanovic is raring to go ahead of making his return to our television screens early Monday morning.

Stefanovic, 37-year-old younger brother of former Today host Karl Stefanovic, will helm new-look Sky News breakfast show First Edition from 5am alongside co-host Laura Jayes.

Peter Stefanovic says his time off was testing but ultimately valuable. Picture: Adam Yip

“I have had some funemployment that I’ve really enjoyed,” he told Confidential. “I might be a little rusty but I am hungry. I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

That “funemployment” started when Stefanovic had his contract suddenly ripped up after 15 years at Nine while in Mexico celebrating his brother’s wedding to fashion designer Jasmine in Mexico in December.

Days later, Nine ruthlessly dumped Karl from his co-hosting chair on Today, which has seen ratings plummet since his departure with a new team of Georgie Gardner, Deb Knight and Tom Steinfort.

“It has been a good mid-career reset,” he said. “It was a weird time and a hard time, I can’t lie. Christmas was very strange last year because no one knew what was happening.

“I don’t want to sound preachy but I really feel like when times are tough, that is when you do your best living because you really find out about yourself and your strengths.”

First Edition will provide a news-focused alternative to the traditional commercial network programs Sunrise and Today.

Stefanovic, who is married to former Today presenter Sylvia Jeffreys, who was also moved from the show at the end of last year and is now working on A Current Affair, served as a foreign correspondent before most recently hosting the Weekend Today show.

Peter Stefanovic will be the new co-host of weekday breakfast program First Edition on Sky, alongside Laura Jayes. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Outside of First Edition, he will contribute to Sky News with special projects, the first of which is a two-part investigation, Lawyer X: The Untold Story, about Victorian barrister and police informant Nicola Gobbo.

“It is no offence to Channel 9 but this is the dream gig,” he said. “This is right in my wheelhouse.”

There will be less five-star fuss when Stefanovic makes his Sky News debut.

For example, he will be doing his own make-up, which is “why I keep my hair short so I don’t have to style it and it is just a bit of powder in the mornings.”

The reality of returning to work will hit hard when Stefanovic’s alarm goes off at 3am on Monday.

“I have done all the maths,” he said.

Stefanovic is yet to seek advice from his brother on the new job.

“I am going to work it out for myself for a little while and learn from my mistakes. But I will say this about Karl, he is still one of the best broadcasters in the country, if not the best, and he is valuable and he has got a lot of experience as a journalist and as a broadcaster and he is a bloody good bloke and he is a great brother and things are going to be fine for him.”