Sunrise viewers call for Natalie Barr to permanently REPLACE Sam Armytage

‘Hope Nat stays on as a main host’: Sunrise viewers call for Natalie Barr to permanently REPLACE Sam Armytage… while others want her to come back

Sunrise newsreader Natalie Barr has been filling in for host Sam Armytage for the past four weeks. 

And now, Sunrise viewers have called Natalie to permanently replace Sam as co-host alongside David ‘Kochie’ Koch.

But viewers of the breakfast show are torn, with many yearning for Sam’s return to Channel Seven’s flagship breakfast program.      

‘Hope Nat stays on as a main host’: Sunrise viewers call for Natalie Barr (left) to permanently REPLACE Sam Armytage (right) while others want her to come back

Conflicting perspectives: Some people suggested that Sam is no longer needed on Sunrise while one person said that Natalie should become the show's third host

Conflicting perspectives: Some people suggested that Sam is no longer needed on Sunrise while one person said that Natalie should become the show’s third host 

‘All she’s (Sam has) achieved is proving the show can go on quite well without her. So why even employ her,’ one person wrote on Facebook. 

‘Only thing left to do now is get rid of Kochie and Nat Barr,’ another person said, radically suggesting Sunrise get a whole new lineup. 

Meanwhile on Twitter, one person suggested that Sunrise change from two hosts to three hosts once Sam returns to the show. 

‘Hope Nat stays on as a main host. Have all three; Sam, Kochie and Nat,’ they wrote. 

Pictured: Natalie, Sam, David 'Kochie' Koch and sports presenter Mark Beretta

Pictured: Natalie, Sam, David ‘Kochie’ Koch and sports presenter Mark Beretta

The Sunrise Facebook page has been flooded by questions asking about Sam’s noticeable absence from the show, with many calling for her return. 

‘I just want to say hello to Sam Armytage. I miss her on morning TV, I love watching her every morning. Nat and Kochie are doing a wonderful job but I am thinking of Sam and hope she is well,’ one person wrote.  

‘Sam, I say this from everyone out there. Please, Sunrise isn’t the same without you. We hope you’re back real soon,’ another person wrote on Twitter.    

Supporters: The Sunrise Facebook page has been flooded by questions asking about Sam's noticeable absence from the show, with many calling for her return

Supporters: The Sunrise Facebook page has been flooded by questions asking about Sam’s noticeable absence from the show, with many calling for her return

Sam hasn’t been seen on the set of Sunrise for over a month as she continues to take time off due to a ‘respiratory illness’.

The highly-paid host, 43, was first absent from the program seven weeks ago on February 26, claiming at the time she was ‘at home sick as a dog’.

Sam later returned to host the program from March 3-13, but has not been seen since.

The missing member: Sam hasn't been seen on the set of Sunrise for over a month as she continues to take time off due to a 'respiratory illness'. Pictured: David, Sam, Natalie and Mark

The missing member: Sam hasn’t been seen on the set of Sunrise for over a month as she continues to take time off due to a ‘respiratory illness’. Pictured: David, Sam, Natalie and Mark

The Today Show host previously said her illness was due to inhaling smoke from the recent bushfires and was not COVID-19, which is also a respiratory illness.   

Last month, she hit back at claims that her absence had caused ‘heightened tensions’ between herself and her co-hosts. 

‘I’m very fortunate to have Nat to back me up, so that I can rest and recover as quickly as possible,’ she wrote on Instagram. 

Meanwhile, there have been  6,394 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, which have resulted in 61 deaths. 

Pandemic: There have been 6,394 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, which have resulted in 61 deaths

Pandemic: There have been 6,394 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, which have resulted in 61 deaths