Leila’s Inside Story: Lisps, layabouts and her hubby’s life after Nine

NOT so long ago he was the most powerful man in Australian television. Now he’s a real life house husband.

HER current affairs show Inside Story returns Thursday night, but Channel Nine presenter Leila McKinnon is also happily spilling the inside story on her newly-developed lisp and husband David Gyngell’s transformation from media mogul to house husband.

McKinnon, a 20-year-veteran with Nine, and married to former Nine CEO Gyngell for 10 years is now the one heading off to work while Gyngell, who ditched his powerful position as head of Nine last November, cools his heels at home.

And she’s relishing throwing barbs about being the breadwinner.

“I joke about being the breadwinner, and having a layabout husband at home, but he is actually just recalibrating,” McKinnon said.

“He’s happy at home, but I don’t think he’ll be quiet for long. He’s been great — he’s loving time with the kids, he cooks dinner. In reality, he has other businesses; he’s still on the board at Nine, so he’s keeping busy.

“He’s less stressed and loving more time with the kids. He was always pretty good at not bringing stuff home, but now he is genuinely really relaxed.

Former Nine CEO David Gyngell. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“Although he used to be winding up everyone at work and ringing them every five minutes and bossing them around, and now it all comes down on my head.

“The only thing he does which is annoying is he’s started intercepting my internet shopping deliveries — he’s worked out how much is coming in.”

In the sledging stakes, Gyngell is giving as good as he gets, taunting his wife about the lisp she developed after having braces fitted late last year to correct her bite.

“It was that, or lose teeth,” McKinnon shrugged.

McKinnon debuted the lisp as stand-in host on A Current Affair in early January — and social media lit up asking what was going on.

An unruffled McKinnon replied via Twitter: “Thankth for your interetht in my lithp, yeth I have braceth now, not great in my job but I’m working on it.”

Initially distressed by the lisp, she spent days working in a voice booth “to try to sort it out”.

“I said to my bosses ‘if you’ve got a problem with it I’m happy to fall on my sword’, but they were supportive,” she said.

Not so much Gyngell.

“He just thinks it’s hilarious,” McKinnon said.

“Somebody tried to comfort me by saying it was kind of sexy.

“He said ‘no — it’s only sexy if you’ve always had it. If you’ve just developed it, people think you’ve had a stroke’.

“I was just like ‘thanks … thank you, very much for your support’.”

“On ACA and on Nine news there was a time I was avoiding ‘s’ words, so “Mith Univerth Authtralia” became “our pageant winner”, but it’s now improving.

“I just don’t want it to be a distraction.”

McKinnon has made plenty of progress getting control of the lisp, in time to return as host for the third season of Inside Story tonight.

The show, which started in 2014, has extended its scope after beginning as a true-crime investigative series.

“Now, we are telling just awesome stories that need a bit of space to be told.”

Inspiring tale: The story of Doctor Munjed Al Muderis moved McKinnon to tears. Picture: Supplied.

Inside Story tonight tells the incredible story of surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis — whose incredible tale of fleeing Iraq and the dodging the bullets of Saddam Hussein after defying a decree to amputate the ears of Iraqi draft evaders, and arriving by boat in Australia as a refugee is eclipsed only by his incredible work now as the surgeon who helps amputees walk again.

McKinnon has already wept over the story at least three times, including when she spoke about it on the Today Show.

“I love the story too because it is so many stories — his battle, his family’s battle, and now, the joy he brings changing the lives of others,” McKinnon said.

“When he helps that gorgeous girl who had that crooked leg and just wasn’t going to be able to walk ... I just lost it.”

Inside Story returns at 7.30pm tonight on Nine

Originally published as Leila’s Inside Story: Lisps, layabouts and her hubby’s life after Nine