Kochie: 'Why Karl & I Aren't Friends'

The Sunrise co-host on life, love and longevity in television

- Stephen Downie

There are only three things of which you can be certain: death, taxes and David Koch on Sunrise.

For 18 years, Kochie has beamed into Australian lounge rooms. That’s a lifetime in TV land.

And it’s even more amazing when you consider he wasn’t even supposed to be co-hosting the Channel Seven brekkie show. Kochie was originally called in for three months to fill in for former host, Chris Reason, following his shock cancer diagnosis.

“It was a complete mistake,” the 64-year-old exclusively tells New Idea of being on Sunrise.

While Kochie himself admits he’s an unlikely TV personality (“I’m no oil painting”), he has lasted the distance and has no plans of quitting now.

WHY SUNRISE HAS WORKED

“It’s about not trying to bulls--t to your audience. Viewers can see through it.

“You’re not going to please everyone all the time and you’ve just got to be prepared for that. Some people will totally disagree with you.

“Unfortunately, we’ve lost the art of agreeing to disagree and respecting each other’s opinions. You can stay friends and colleagues, and move on.”

RATINGS SUCCESS