Sunrise duo Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington’s next project revealed

After spending their first six months working together as co-hosts on breakfast television, Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington are making their prime-time debut.

You might presume that Matt Shirvington’s experiences as a champion runner would hold him in good stead for hosting Carols In The Domain this year. After all, he knows what it’s like to perform for a live audience. “Yeah, but only for 10 seconds,” he says, as his Sunrise co-host Natalie Barr breaks into peals of laughter.

Hosting the annual Christmas stage show poses a far greater test of endurance in the spotlight for Shirvington than a sprint trial.

And it seems that people love to remind him just how high pressure this gig is, asking questions such as, “Aren’t you daunted to walk out in front of thousands of people?”

His response: “I’m not nervous about it, because at the end of the day, people come along to the carols to get together to have fun. It’s not a judging thing or something that needs to be absolutely perfect. It’s all about having fun and enjoying the night.

Matt Shirvington and Natalie Barr attend the 63rd TV WEEK Logie Awards at The Star, Sydney in July 30. Picture: Getty Images

“And while I don’t take a lot of my confidence from my athletics career and running in front of hundreds of thousands of people,” the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games sprinter continues, “I do look back on those experiences and think, ‘You’ve got this!’”

Of course, Shirvington will also have Carols veteran Barr as his wingwoman on the night. She has passed on some important tips for overseeing the festivities, most notably to turn off his microphone before joining in any of the warbling coming from the stage.

Barr laughs as she considers the level of Shirvington’s actual singing acumen, telling The Binge Guide, “He’s just as ordinary as I am.”

She insists the audience will be better off if the musical side of the performances (and the volume) is left to the experts who take the stage.

Of course, she adds, “I sing. And I’m sure Matt will want to sing, because you can’t

help it. You’ve got some of the best singers in Australia and a beautiful choir and a great orchestra and it’s so stirring and so moving, you want to sing. It’s just that it’s better [that the professional singers] do it rather than us.”

Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington have unveiled their newest TV project – hosting this year’s Carols in the Domain. Picture: Seven

This year, among the stellar line-up of musical talent onstage are The Wiggles, Dami Im, Lucy Durack, Casey Donovan and Silvia Colloca. And in an era when viewers are spoilt for choice for summer viewing – with no shortage of hit shows and movies on offer – the annual rite of watching Carols In The Domain on television continues to prove a crowd-pleaser. Barr believes the enduring popularity of an annual tune-in is simple.

“In an uncertain world, this is a bit of certainty,” she says.

“It makes people feel safe, and it’s familiar. And it’s just a really nice thing to do. I don’t think we have many traditions in our world nowadays like this. It’s quite unique. It’s beautiful and it’s joyous.”

Carols aside, the co-hosts each have annual festive traditions to maintain this season.

For Barr, it’s a pilgrimage home to Perth to enjoy a lunch that begins with prawn cocktails (made with her mother-in-law’s signature sauce) and ham that’s been glazed using a recipe from Libby Koch, the wife of Barr’s good friend and former Sunrise co-host David Koch.

Shirvington’s celebrations stretch across three days, during which his brood spends time with his extended family and in-laws on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

The pair also have their own favourite TV specials and movies to get them in the Christmas spirit. Shirvington is planning on introducing his youngest child to a personal favourite he has loved since he was a child, the 1964 stop-motion classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Barr and her family, on the other hand, have moved on to bawdier fare.

“We watch Love Actually, but I have two boys who are 18 and 22,” she explains.

“So we watch Bad Santa – quite a lot.”

Carols In The Domain airs at 7.30pm on Saturday on the Seven Network & 7Plus. For more from Stellar, listen to the latest episode of Something To Talk About below or wherever you get your podcasts.

Originally published as Sunrise duo Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington’s next project revealed