The Golden Bachelor host is reportedly in talks to permanently join the breakfast show.

Samantha Armytage / Today's Dan Anstey and Samantha Armytage.

Samantha Armytage has teased her ‘new era’ amid rumours about her next career move. Photos: Instagram/sam_armytage / Channel 9

Over a year after her last major TV role, hosting Farmer Wants A Wife, Samantha Armytage has well and truly returned to the spotlight. Not only is she the host of Channel 9’s upcoming reality show The Golden Bachelor, but she’s also been rumoured to be making a comeback on breakfast TV as host of Today alongside Karl Stefanovic.

Samantha, who hosted Sunrise from 2013 to 2021 and moved to Channel 9 last year, made a brief appearance on the show in December, filling in for Sarah Abo. It was more recently reported by The Australian that the network is in “secret talks” to replace Sarah with the veteran reporter in an effort to finally take the breakfast TV crown from Channel 7.

While Samantha is yet to directly address the speculation, she shared an Instagram post on Tuesday promoting The Golden Bachelor, which she previously told Yahoo Lifestyle will feature “some really powerful [moments]” amid the drama and humour.

“A new era is about to arrive,” she wrote alongside details of the premiere on Monday, October 20.

The ‘new era’ is likely referring to the reality show serving as a revamp of The Bachelor franchise; however, it could also be in celebration of her ‘new era’ on Channel 9.

Samantha Armytage.

Samantha will host Channel 9’s brand new reality show, The Golden Bachelor. Photo: Channel 9

Would Samantha return to breakfast TV?

Before the Today rumours, Samantha admitted on the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About that she isn’t interested in returning to breakfast TV anytime soon.

“I am completely happy to just stay in prime time now with the alarms going off at reasonable hours like 6am,” she said.

“I mean, you know, getting up for all those years, it really affects your social life very badly, and it’s also very hard on the body. So I don’t necessarily miss that, but breakfast TV is really fun.”

‘A little weird’

Elsewhere in the interview, Samantha confessed it was “a little weird” hosting Today over the summer break alongside weather presenter Dan Anstey, but said it was “a great experience”.

“Obviously, studios are different, people are different, the way that Sunrise and the Today show write their scripts, all the little details that you become used to when you host a show every day,” she said.

“It was fun. The alarm did not bother me because it was only [for] a few weeks, so that’s easy. It’s when it’s every day that it gets you.”

The veteran host said she had “so much fun” leading Sunrise for more than eight years, noting it was “very flattering” that Channel 9 trusted her to fill in on Today.