‘Festering sore’: Nine on edge as Georgie Gardner faces probe over autocue incident

Channel 9 employees have spoken out about the broader culture at the network amid Georgie Gardner’s alleged incident with a junior staff member.

Channel 9 employees have spoken out about the broader culture at the network amid Georgie Gardner’s alleged incident with a junior staff member.

The veteran broadcaster and subject of an internal investigation following the incident last month, is remaining tight-lipped over the alleged blow-up, with reports the 54-year-old was involved in a “heated” discussion with an unidentified staff member after coming off-air.

Insiders say the incident, which was allegedly over an issue with the autocue, is the “talk of the newsroom”.

News.com.au has chosen not to identify the complainant, who is a young female producer.

“She [Georgie] probably has had a go,” a Nine insider said.

“But the whole joint is really sensitive at the moment,” the source continued, referencing an independent review into “broader cultural issues”, none of which involved Ms Gardner, which was ordered at the network in May. The findings of the investigation are set to drop in October.

“They need to get that report out and move on. It’s like festering sore,” the insider added.

Georgie Gardner was investigated over an alleged incident involving a female staffer.

Employees have warned the newsroom is “on edge” as they await the bombshell report.

Another Nine staffer, speaking anonymously, vouched for Ms Gardner, saying she had always been “pleasant” to work with.

A fellow employee also described Ms Gardner as a “lovely, strong woman”.

A spokesperson for the network and for Ms Gardner declined to comment.

Ms Gardner currently presents the evening bulletin for 9News Sydney on Friday and Saturday nights.

She recently had two weeks’ leave, prompting staff to believe she was stood down pending an investigation.

However, it’s understood Ms Gardner’s leave was pre-booked.

She returned to present the evening bulletin last Friday.

Ms Gardner is yet to comment on the allegations. Picture: Brendon Thorne – Pool/Getty Images

The mother of two teenagers has spoken in the past about the issue of bullying, particularly in schools, saying she believed the word “victim” was overused.

During the chat in December last year, 2GB’s Ben Fordham began by speaking to his experience as a father of three school-aged children.

“It scares me, the idea that they’re bullied at school or could be bullied at school, and it also scares me that they could bully kids at school,” he said.

After listening to Mr Fordham’s experience, Ms Gardner offered the observation, “It will happen … and it is just part of growing up.

“I’m not suggesting that it’s ideal, but it’s part of just the rough and tumble of growing up.

“It’s about teaching your kids how to handle that as the ‘victim’, a word I also think is overused, and how to model behaviour.”

She continued, “Bullying is learnt behaviour. A kid who comes to school and throws their weight around, I bet nine times out of 10 is experiencing that sort of behaviour on the home front.”

During the discussion, Mr Fordham challenged the idea that these things are “part of growing up”.

“I think that there are examples like that where there’s an evil element within the school and … why don’t we get rid of the evil element and allow the other kids to remain?” he asked.

“That is absolutely an example of bullying,” Ms Gardner responded, before adding, “Things that happen that don’t constitute bullying”, such as a child saying, “He sat in my chair and he knows that that’s where I like to sit, and so therefore I’m being bullied.”

“That’s my point about (how) I think it’s losing its currency,” she explained.

Ms Gardner has reduced her workload with the network over the past few years after stepping down as Today co-host in late 2019.

She landed the coveted gig alongside Karl Stefanovic for 2018, after longtime co-host Lisa Wilkinson defected to Channel 10 following a pay dispute.

Karl Stefanovic and Georgie Gardner co-hosted Today for two years.

But Ms Gardner’s stint on the breakfast show would only last two years.

Things got off to a rocky start for Ms Gardner as the fallout from Stefanovic’s 2016 divorce from his wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn, played out heavily in the media.

Stefanovic, now 50, began dating Jasmine Yarbrough, who is 10 years his junior, just months later, and ultimately married the shoe designer in a lavish wedding in Mexico in December 2018.

Ms Gardner gave a rare interview on the It’s All Her podcast in October last year, breaking her silence on the duo’s difficult tenure working together.

She also denied rumours of tension with Mr Stefanovic.

“Unfortunately things that were out of my control meant that it was a short-lived stint,” she said at the time.

“I had a year hosting with Karl, which was a lot of fun. But it was also a period in his personal life where there was a lot going on. And there was a lot of noise.

“We were never sort of able to get traction because there was always so much speculation about his private life. It was really tough for him. And it was tough for us.”

After Mr Stefanovic was sensationally let go in late 2018, Nine journalist Deborah Knight was brought in as his replacement in a bold shake-up.

Knight and Gardner co-hosted the breakfast program briefly for 12 months.

But the partnership didn’t manage to find its footing with viewers as the show continued to plummet in viewership.

“It got to a point where I could see it just wasn’t going to work. So I just gracefully exited stage left and just continued on with my news, which is what I’m still doing today,” Ms Gardner said.

It took only a year for Nine to bring Mr Stefanovic back in a bid to resurrect dwindling ratings, teaming him up with Allison Langdon as co-host.

Langdon was replaced by Sarah Abo after taking over from Tracy Grimshaw on A Current Affair this year.