David Koch reveals he was almost fired from Sunrise for making one big change

He held the job for 21 years, but outgoing Sunrise co-host David Koch has revealed he was almost fired from the show for making a significant on-air change.

David Koch announced he was quitting as host of Sunrise earlier this week, departing the show after 21 years on his own terms.

But the breakfast TV veteran has revealed he was almost fired years ago after making a small but significant on-air change when he helmed the show with Melissa Doyle.

Speaking to Cliffo & Bronte on Hit Queensland Breakfast, the 67-year-old journalist spoke of how breakfast TV was “stuffy” at the time of his Sunrise appointment in 2002, before he infused some personality into it – which ruffled feathers among certain Seven bosses.

“When we changed the opening of the show from, ‘this is Sunrise with Melissa Doyle and David Koch’ to ‘Mel and Kochie’, the news director of Channel 7 came down and said, ‘You can’t do that because it’s demeaning to the news brand of Seven’,” Koch said.

“And about a year later, the then-managing director of Seven recommended to the board that they fire me because I had an opinion and that was bad for the news brand.

“Thankfully [Seven Chairmen] Kerry and Ryan Stokes said, ‘Nup, we’re very happy with it.’

“We did write a playbook here at Seven with breakfast TV, and they let us do it.”

Melissa Doyle and David Koch hosted Sunrise together for 10 years, before Mel left a decade ago.

Kochie, a father-of-four, also revealed he initially landed the plum job because producers were “desperate”, with its popularity paling in comparison to Channel 9’s Today, which at the time was being hosted by Tracy Grimshaw and Steve Liebmann.

Kochie, who was working as a finance journalist at the time, temporarily stepped in to replace Chris Reason as host. Reason had stepped down after being diagnosed with cancer but never returned.

“It was all a mistake,” Koch said. “It’s been the longest mistake in history.

“I’m the least likely looking or sounding TV personality, but back then, we were 5 per cent of Today show’s audience, no one watched us, not even Channel 7 executives, and I think they were desperate just to put in anyone who agreed to do it.

“But it allowed us to develop the show, make mistakes when no one was watching. That’s been the great joy of it.”

The pair shook up the “serious” breakfast TV format by breathing some personality into it.

Koch has kept hush on rumours that Matt Shirvington has been locked in as his replacement, with the official news to be announced on the show on Monday, but he did share some simple advice for his successor.

“My advice to them would be to be exactly who you are, and not pretend to be somebody else. 3.5 hours a day of live TV you are stripped bare,” he said.

“People know you intimately and they can pick a fake in a moment.

“And understand it’s not rocket science. It’s a bull sh*t job. You’re not a paramedic or a heart surgeon. You are here to inform, entertain people, and if you can, help people.”

Kochie’s final show is on Friday, June 9.