Joel Creasey takes a swipe at flailing Today show presenters

Following a bumpy morning for the Today show, Channel 10’s golden panel The Project couldn’t help but take a swipe.

The Project’s Joel Creasey took a cheeky swipe at the flailing Today show on Friday night amid the morning show’s dire ratings.

Pointing out an embarrassing, though very minor, gaffe made by Georgie Gardner Friday morning, the comedian drew chuckles from his fellow panellists – including former Today co-host Lisa Wilkinson, who headed the panel alongside Karl Stefanovic in the show’s heyday.

Wilkinson defected from Channel 9 to Channel 10 following a widely-reported pay disparity dispute between her Stefanovic in 2017.

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Tonight, the panel couldn’t help but giggle when Creasey drew attention to the fact that Gardner was seemingly unfamiliar with popular US musician Lizzo.

Creasey didn't hold back. Picture: Channel 10.

“To anyone who doesn’t think the Today show is down with the kids, let me assure you are wrong,” Creasey began, before airing a clip of the panel returning from an ad break to Lizzo’s hit Good As Hell.

“Thank you, Lizzie, Lizzo, isn’t it?,” Gardner fumbled as her co-hosts chuckled sympathetically beside her.

“We’re doing well, keeping up with the peeps,” Gardner joked.

Mocking the hosts as the footage cut out, Creasey said; “Yeah, G and D, down with the peeps,” before shaking his head and muttering “terrible” while Waleed Aly, Lisa Wilkinson and Monty Dimond laughed.

Attempting to compose herself, Wilkinson put her head down to conceal her laughter as the The Project – which, in contrast to Today, is praised for its genuine chemistry between presenters, went to an ad break.

Wilkinson turned her head away from the camera as she chuckled over the gaffe. Picture: Channel 10.

"Terrible," Creasey muttered after airing the footage.

It came after a bumpy morning for the Today show on Friday.

Earlier in the program, Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight, joined by newsreader Tom Steinfort, were caught in the middle of a tense exchange during a cross with sports reporter Tony Jones from Sandown Racetrack.

It's all happy families at Channel 9's Today show.

Jones posed a question to his colleagues about what kind of Australian food might be included on a menu for French visitors to the track.

The next minute of failed banter – complete with abrupt replies from Jones and visibly taken aback reactions from the trio in Sydney – is hard to watch, to say the least.

Steinfort suggested a classic Four’N Twenty meat pie might be a good menu item, an idea that Jones described as: “So Tom Steinfort-like.”

Gardner suggested “a kangaroo burger, maybe”, which elicited a seemingly cranky shot from Jones.

“Oh, you’d just go and slaughter a kangaroo, would you, Georgie?” he said.

“Kangaroo meat is readily available across Australia. That’s not uncommon.” she quickly shot back.

Knight tried to lighten the mood by asking if Jones had taken his cavoodle Archie with him.

“Deb, we’re at a racetrack,” Jones spat. “Probably not a great idea to bring the dog, I wouldn’t have thought.”

Tony Jones was crossing live from Sandown Racecourse this morning.

Knight wrapped up the entire cringe-worthy cross by apologising.

“OK, well sorry for asking. Never mind. Good on you, TJ.”

The flagship breakfast program has been plagued by disappointing ratings all year despite a revamped format and new hosting line-up, and sank to their lowest-ever point last week.

Persistent rumours suggest current co-hosts Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight will be dumped in favour of the return of Karl Stefanovic, joined by Allison Langdon, in 2020.