Tony Armstrong has announced he is leaving his role with ABC News Breakfast after three years.
The beloved Aussie TV star, 34, left fans devastated when he confirmed the shock news of his departure live on air on Tuesday morning.
Tony revealed his last show will air in less than two weeks time on October 4 but shared his hopes that he will be able to return as a guest in a heartfelt statement.
‘I’ve been pretty nervous about doing this,’ Tony emotionally confirmed. ‘I’ve retired from News Brekkie and my last day will be October 4.’
‘I just want to thank absolutely everyone – all of you guys, my colleagues, everyone behind the camera, all the producers, all the people who watch as well and come up in the street and say g’day and all that kind of stuff.
‘Um, yeah, it’s been a whirlwind sort of three-and-a-touch years. A lot’s happened. Feels like I’ve been on a bit of a rocket ship. But the support that I’ve got from News Brekkie and news in general has been amazing.’
‘Huge thank you, I’m going to miss the couch – I’m not going to miss the alarm, but I’ll miss the couch. I’ve had such a ball,’ he added.
While he is stepping down from the breakfast show, he reassured fans that it is not the last time they will see him gracing their TV screens.
Tony Armstrong has announced he is leaving his role with ABC News Breakfast after three years
Tony revealed his last show will air in less than two weeks time on October 4 but shared his hopes that he will be able to return as a guest in a heartfelt statement live on air (pictured)
The former Sydney Swans star confirmed he will be working on an exciting new project with ABC next year but remained coy on the details of the mystery job.
‘I’ve got something coming out early next year, not allowed to say what it is yet, it’s top secret,’ he teased.
His co-host Michael Rowland then paid tribute to Tony as he shared his sorrow about the fan favourite talent stepping down from the program.
He gushed: ‘We’ll miss you, I’ll miss swapping sports stories and gags with you, honestly mate – even though you aren’t a morning person, we can all attest to that – you’ve brightened so many mornings.’
Michael, 56, went on to reference Tony’s milestone 2024 Logies nomination and wins in previous years as he praised him for the prestigious achievement.
‘I’m so glad this show has provided you with a platform to become an award-winning household name and you’ll go on to much bigger and better things,’ he said.
His fellow host Bridget Brennan added: ‘I know it’s meant so much to me and to thousands upon thousands of First Nations viewers waking up to see Tony representing us on the daily.’
His exit comes just weeks after he was nominated for the prestigious Gold Logie last month along with a whole string of Aussie TV talents.
As well as his budding TV career, Tony has also been going from strength-to-strength with his new girlfriend Rona Glynn-McDonald (both pictured)
While he was up against the likes of Julia Morris, Asher Keddie, Andy Lee, Sonia Kruger and Robert Irwin, he ultimately lost out on the win to TV veteran Larry Emdur
He was also in the running for most popular presenter but the Bert Newton Award was once again also taken home by The Morning Show’s Larry in a landslide win.
It is not the first time he has been recognised at the TV Awards as he took home the gong for most popular presenter in 2022 and won best new talent the year before.
Tony has become a firm fan favourite on ABC News Breakfast ever since he took on the regular role discussing the sports headlines in 2020.
The AFL superstar famously replaced Paul Kennedy on the sports segment and has soared to huge acclaim since.
As well as his budding TV career, Tony has also been going from strength-to-strength with his new girlfriend Rona Glynn-McDonald.
Elsewhere, Tony recently gave an insight into his relationship with his new girlfriend Rona Glynn-McDonald, revealing how they first met.
The couple went public with their romance in November last year after quietly dating for ‘a while’ and recently gave a rare insight into their relationship.
In July, they dished how they first came to meet one another, with Rona admitting she was unaware of Tony’s high-profile in the sporting world at the time.
Speaking to Stellar’s Something To Talk About podcast, musician Rona joked that Tony ‘stalked’ her, before clarifying that they had been socialising in the same circles.
‘Tony stalked me […] that’s how I always respond to that question. We didn’t know a lot about each other [before meeting], we kind of had been operating in similar-ish circles,’ she shared.
Rona said they realised that they had almost crossed paths on a number of occasions before they finally met at one of Rona’s gigs and quickly hit it off.
Tony sweetly gushed of their romance: ‘It’s been great, honestly, been awesome.’
The couple went public with their romance late last year and recently gave a rare insight into their bond, with Rona admitting she was unaware of Tony’s high profile when they first met
Rona added that she wasn’t aware of Tony’s fame and public profile before they met and she only realised when other people filled her in on his career.
She confessed: ‘I saw your Instagram and I think a couple of people had mentioned your name, and I was like, ”Who? Tony who?” I’m not up very often watching [Tony’s] 6am [ABC News Breakfast show].’
Musician and DJ Rona is an accomplished Kaytetye woman who grew up in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) on Arrernte Country.
As well as being a musician, she also works with First Nations organisations to develop and consult on economic systems which help Indigenous Australians.
Rona serves as the founding CEO of Common Ground and Director of First Nations Futures, and she was also once the Director of First Nations at YLab.
