Stark contrast between Sonia and Georgie’s Today farewells

Sonia Kruger got a cake, champagne and even a balloon drop during her epic two-hour goodbye from Today Extra. The contrast was unmissable.

Today Extra host Sonia Kruger’s epic goodbye wrapped up this morning with a cake, French champagne and even a balloon drop.

Calling her time at Nine “an absolute joy”, an emotional Kruger thanked her co-host David Campbell as he poured her a glass of champagne.

It was quite the contrast to fellow Nine morning personality Georgie Gardner’s final episode of Today this time last week: Georgie’s departure was announced off-air, after what turned out to be her final show. Gardner said in a statement last week that she was “disappointed” to be leaving Today — and on Monday, her now-former co-host Deb Knight offered this tribute: “She gave it a red hot go.”

Sonia Kruger's big Today farewell

Kruger’s emotional send-off came a day after she confirmed Australian TV’s worst-kept secret and announced her departure from Nine — although she still hasn’t revealed where she’s going.

It’s believed that Kruger’s departure from Nine comes after she signed a “seven-figure” deal to return to her former network, Seven, in 2020, nine years after defecting to Nine.

Earlier,Today ’s sports reporter Tony Jones suffered through a less successful farewell for his final day on the job, banished from the studio and saying his goodbyes to his colleagues via video link from a boxing ring.

Sonia Kruger's big Today farewell

Jones, who’d brought his dog Archie to work, initially addressed his farewell to the canine rather than his co-stars.

“Archie, it’s not a great morning. You should have just stayed in bed with mum, shouldn’t you, mate? The good news is, Archie has a new two-year contract. I got the arse. It’s all going very, very well.”

Kruger and Jones’s twin departures come during another dramatic end of year for Nine’s morning shows: With ratings dropping to new lows, Nine once more announced it would clear the decks on Today in 2020, replacing hosts Gardner and Knight with Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon. The upheaval comes just 12 months after Stefanovic was dramatically ousted.