Inside Karl Stefanovic’s one-man war to save his job at any cost — including former close friends

Besieged Karl Stefanovic is waging a one-man war to save himself from career destruction at any cost — including burning former mates.

Channel 9 has slammed suggestions its besieged breakfast television star Karl Stefanovic had bad blood with his show’s departed boss.

Until this week, Mark Calvert was the executive producer of Today, which has struggled in the ratings against rival Seven’s hit Sunrise.

His sudden exit raised eyebrows, amid reports that there had been escalating “tension” between Calvert and Stefanovic over recent months.

The pair, who were close friends, are said to have fallen out as the co-host battles a public-relations nightmare surrounding his split from wife Cassandra Thorburn in late 2017.

Stefanovic will this weekend marry shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough at a luxury resort in Mexico.

Karl Stefanovic and ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn around the time they wed in an intimate, private ceremony in Port Douglas.

Jasmine Yarbrough and Karl Stefanovic will marry at a luxury resort in Mexico this weekend.

A spokesman for the network strongly denied the suggestion that anything untoward had occurred between Calvert and Stefanovic.

“Simply not true — just scuttlebutt. There hasn’t been any tension between the two in relation to Mark stepping down.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Nine said that Calvert was leaving Today voluntarily, having grown tired of the pressure of demanding early mornings.

“And there is no program on Australian television that is analysed, revised and criticised as much as Today. The hours are exhausting, the competition is intense and the media coverage — good and bad — is unrelenting,” News Director Darren Wick said.

Small screen insiders tell news.com.au that Calvert is indeed exhausted — not from the job so much as working with Stefanovic.

“Karl is fighting a losing battle to save himself at any cost,” a senior source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told news.com.au.

“Poor Mark is the latest casualty. It’s so disappointing — he was really respected … and such a great boss.”

A Nine insider said: “I presume (Nine announced Calvert had stepped down) because they needed a scapegoat to appease advertisers. To say, ‘Look, we’ve done something. It will get better now.’ God help the next executive producer.”

Mark Calvert socialising with Today crew August 2017. Picture Instagram

Mark Calvert was once a close friend of Karl Stefanovic but was sacked yesterday.

But as the source said, many believe he problem is not who runs the show, but who sits in the chair in front of the camera.

“If they don’t fix the Karl thing, it will never work — regardless of whether they put God in charge as EP. Karl was and is the liability — not Calvert.”

It’s understood that Steve Burling, the boss of A Current Affair, will step into Calvert’s suddenly vacated role.

They were close after working together for more than a decade but Karl Stefanovic has cut Lisa Wilkinson out of his life. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

Karl Stefanovic was busted slagging-off his co-host Georgie Gardner.

Up until recently, Stefanovic could do no wrong — including showing up to work drunk after the Logie Awards. His larrikin brand was an asset, rather than a liability.

But in September 2016, he announced his shock and sudden split from Thorburn, ending their 21-year relationship.

Stefanovic’s swift rebound with Yarbrough was, as one observer told news.com.au in September, “the epitome of a midlife crisis”.

Karl Stefanovic with wife Cassandra Thorburn in happier times.

There has also been a string of scandals that have distracted from the show’s efforts to regain some ratings ground.

The embarrassing gender pay gap dispute involving long-time TV partner Wilkinson and his well-publicised rant where he was overheard slagging-off of new co-host Georgie Gardner in the back of an Uber turned off viewers in the droves.

He went from beloved to loathed, particularly among the crucial female demographic, and Today’s already modest ratings slumped.