Sunrise exit: Samantha Armytage rides off into sunset with select farewell

Many of Samantha Armytage’s co-stars noticeably absent as she marked Sunrise departure with luxurious waterfront lunch.

Sam Armytage arrives at the Catalina restaurant in Sydney’s east on Thursday. Picture: John Grainger

After eight years together at breakfast, many of Samantha Armytage’s television co-stars were conspicuously absent as the Sunrise co-host celebrated the end of her run in style with a luxurious waterfront lunch in Sydney’s east.

Rather than host a boisterous farewell bash, the outgoing Seven Network presenter instead opted for a far more intimate affair, inviting only her closest colleagues to join her after signing off from the nation’s leading breakfast show for the final time on Thursday.

Armytage’s good friend, and the co-host of Seven’s The Morning Show, Kylie Gillies, and Sunrise executive producer Michael Pell were among the select few who gathered at high-end restaurant Catalina, in Sydney’s Rose Bay, from about 1pm, to toast Armytage goodbye.

The 44-year-old’s new husband, millionaire businessman Richard Lavender, was there too; the couple smiling for photographers as they arrived together hand-in-hand.

Sam Armytage arrives at Catalina with husband Richard Lavender. Picture: Britta Campion

Lavender, 60, had earlier joined Armytage on the set of Sunrise where he opened up about feelings for her as the show paid tribute to the long-reigning queen of breakfast TV.

“I remember seeing her (at a friend’s birthday party) and I got this really nice sort of feeling and I thought, that’s my girl,” he told viewers.

“It sounds corny, but it’s true. She’s wonderful. She’s a great family girl, which is also very important to me.”

An emotional Armytage broke down in tears a number of times throughout the program as her co-hosts relived the highlights her tenure and her sister and niece joined the program live from London via Skype.

In signing off for the last time, Armytage thanked an extensive list of people who had helped contribute to Sunrise’s success through her run.

She also took advantage of her national platform to take one final swipe at the tabloid media outlets she felt had invaded her privacy and passed unfair judgment on her during her time in the role.

Armytage and Lavender on air during her final show.

“I do want to say that I never fully understood some of the scrutiny and the snarkiness and the bullying from some aspects of the media, but today we move on from that because there is a new chapter starting. It has been overwhelmingly a good experience in my life,” she said.

“Thank you, most all, to all our viewers. You are just wonderful people. There are so many lovely people out there, so many more lovely ones than the nasty ones.”

It came after Armytage surprised viewers by announcing her resignation live on air on Monday morning, revealing she was quitting despite remaining unbeaten in the hotly contested breakfast TV timeslot since she joined veteran co-host David Koch in 2013.

Samantha Armytage joins her closest friends at Catalina. Picture: Britta Campion

“The time has come for the sun to set on my time at Sunrise,” she said at the time. “I go out of this job at a time of my own choosing and on top of the ratings, which not many people in television can say they do.”

The Australian revealed Armytage’s departure came after months of high-level discussion between the star and Seven executives — and six months before her contract expired in October.

While there have been reports about increasing friction between Armytage and her co-stars on the Sunrise set, network insiders denied her exit had been fuelled by any “on-set or off-set” conflict.

Kylie Gillies arrives at Catalina. Picture: John Grainger

Instead, Armytage maintained she had made the unprompted decision to leave for personal reasons after a tumultuous six months.

“As many of you know, my personal life the last six months has been very bittersweet. Some bits have been very happy and some bits have been very, very sad and I want to step out of this public world for a while, take some time and calm things down, enjoy a bit of slow living and spend some time with my precious family and husband and Banjo (her dog),” she said.

Her departure was already locked in when she last week took a parting swipe at the TV industry and the type of people she felt it attracted.

“I don’t think any of us want to do the same thing forever,” Armytage said. “There’s a lot about television that’s all about you and that’s an awful way to live your life. TV isn’t a place that’s necessarily very healthy

“It’s full of sociopaths and narcissists — it can be a dangerous environment, let me tell you.”

Seven has said it would not reveal Armytage’s replacement this week, though long-serving

The Sunrise team farewell Armytage on Thursday.

Sunrise news presenter Natalie Barr remains the favoured contender for the role.

The 52-year-old will co-host the show alongside Koch on Friday, with the network confident the program will continue to maintain its strong lead over ailing rivals Today at the Nine Network despite the loss of its leading lady.