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The old "Industry sources'' ... Trouble at Martin Place

Sunrise host Samantha Armytage can’t seem to shake Mel Doyle’s shadow

The Daily
May 31, 2014 12:00AM

THE only thing worse than a popular but deposed TV personality whose body is still warm is a popular TV personality whose new body is absolutely smokin’ .

Case in point, the unsinkable Mel Doyle.

Samantha Armytage may have usurped Doyle in the chair as anchor of Sunrise, but it seems that despite Doyle being attached to two disastrous post-Sunrise news projects, she still haunts Armytage, who is said to have refused to do photo shoots with the former whom most agree is looking better than ever before.

Industry sources state there was never a time when Doyle and Armytage got along — the ambitious Armytage was always rubbing Doyle the wrong way.

When Doyle was invited back to the show on March 26 to promote her book, Armytage was strangely absent. A scrolling ticker on the bottom of the screen said she was “sick” — an oddly dramatic way to announce a cast member’s absence due to ill health.

A day earlier, Armytage upset viewers with a throwaway remark during a cast rebuke of former Sunrise EP Adam Boland, who had given an interview to ABC-TV’s Australian Story discussing his bipolar condition.

After apologising via Twitter, Armytage didn’t come in the next day. Sources claim she took the rest of the week off “too distressed” to appear — either due to the contentious Boland segment or Doyle’s appearance — her predecessor looking model-thin and super hot after losing 10kg.

And sitting on the Sunrise couch daily on camera next to the svelte and leggy Natalie Barr is also thought by some to have added to Armytage's image concerns, though these two get along fine and there is no talk of any friction.

Armytage was later dispatched to a health retreat, Gwinganna, at the company’s expense, it is claimed. She posted a shot on Instagram and called it her “happy place”.

Confidential hears it is not the first time that Armytage has visited a health retreat at the company’s expense, with insiders insisting Armytage is increasingly short-tempered off screen though perpetually sunny on it.

One of her closest friends, the program’s EP Michael Pell, has addressed staff complaints by asking them to be patient with Armytage who, he has said, is “tired”. And that’s after less than a year in the job. Armytage missed the tail of yesterday’s show after taking a sanctioned early mark to attend a Brumbies lunch in Canberra.