Sunrise host Nat Barr speaks with Kyle and Jackie O after host labels her ‘a little cold’

Natalie Barr has gone head-to-head with Kyle Sandilands, hours after he called the new Sunrise host “cold” and suggested she mightn’t be up to the job.

New Sunrise host Natalie Barr has gone head-to-head with radio shockjock Kyle Sandilands, hours after he suggested she was a “little cold” and wasn’t the right person to lead the popular Channel Seven breakfast show.

Barr has been with Sunrise for more than 18 years as the breakfast show’s newsreader however her promotion to co-host, alongside David Koch, was announced over the weekend.

Sandilands this morning claimed Barr received the co-host job because she’d been with the breakfast show for so long.

“Natalie’s a great newsreader — not taking anything away from her success — but I think you can’t just hang around,” he said on the KIIS FM breakfast show.

“It’s like me leaving and Intern Pete (KIIS FM’s producer and occasional on-air personality) being given my job, just because he’s here.”

Natalie Barr at the Sunrise desk. Picture: John Grainger

Despite protests from his co-host Jackie O, Sandilands doubled down, labelling Barr “a little cold”.

“I find her a little cold, just quietly. I‘ve never met her, mind you. Just watched her on TV. And maybe I find her cold because she’s just reading news,” he said, shrugging.

Barr called in to the radio show half an hour after finishing her first shift as Sunrise co-host and said she’d just been shown what Sandilands had said.

“You called me cold Kyle,” Barr said, later thanking Jackie O for sticking up for her.

“Sorry Kyle, I have not met you in person but maybe if you met me in person you’d see I’m not that cold.”

Sandilands admitted his impression of Barr was only from seeing her reading the news.

“So I don’t know your personality,” he said.

Sandilands asked Barr if she was worried about people judging her for her personality and not just her newsreading skills.

“I wasn’t until now, until you piped up,” Barr joked.

After their light-hearted chat, Barr said she hoped the media would reprint that she and the radio host were friends.

But, their chat took a turn for the worse again when Sandilands said his initial comments was him “thinking out loud...like ‘gee if this doesn’t work it would be career suicide.’”

“Thanks for putting those extra doubts in my mind,” Barr said, laughing, as Jackie O reminded the Sunrise host she’s “a pro”.

Barr was forced to weather another brutal joke earlier today — this time from her co-host David Koch.

While Barr has worked with the Sunrise crew for years, and regularly filled in for Armytage when she was away, Koch joked she still might not be up to the job.

Barr was just minutes into her first day as co-host this morning when Kochie joked the Sunrise crew still wasn’t convinced.

“After 18 years as part of the family... and we were never convinced she could do this after 18 years,” he said with a smirk.

Barr looked on in shock as she gave Kochie a light whack.

“Excuse me! OK, the first five minutes (and) I'm already punching you. This is going to be fun,” she said.

RELATED: Samantha Armytage presents Sunrise for the last time

Nat Barr and David Koch on her first day. Picture: Sunrise

Kochie admitted he was only joking and said Barr was already an expert at co-hosting, considering she’d been filling in for Armytage every Friday for months.

“It's fabulous news,” he said.

“Handy tip: nothing has changed since Friday, or most of last year, so you should be okay.”

Barr was confirmed as Armytage’s replacement over the weekend with Seven releasing a statement announcing the news.

“Sunrise has been my work family for 18 years and while I‘ve absolutely loved my role as newsreader, I’ve now been given the chance to move half a metre along the desk closer to Kochie and give something new a try,” Barr said in a statement.

“I like to think of it as same same, but different. I can’t wait!”

Natalie Barr is the new host of Sunrise.

Kochie also praised Barr and said she would help evolve Sunrise.

“Nat has been there every step of the way as we’ve evolved Sunrise over the past 18 years.

“Our viewers know Nat is way more than just a newsreader. For years she has always stepped up as a co-host, filling in for Sam and I, and spent much of last year leading our coverage of the COVID pandemic.

“We all love her wicked sense of humour and no-nonsense approach to life. Nat and I have always had a very close relationship.

“Nat is a wonderful person, with a wonderful family, and I can’t wait to sit alongside her as we continue to evolve Sunrise.”