Radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands has come up with a theory to explain the disappearance of Channel Seven presenter Matt Doran on Tuesday.
Seven Network had sent the Weekend Sunrise co-host to the Hunter Valley to cover the horrific bus accident that killed 10 wedding guests in the small town of Greta over the long weekend.
However, the star reporter failed to show up for his Sunrise appearance on Tuesday morning, sparking a police search that eventually ended in his being found.
Discussing the incident on The Kyle And Jackie O Show on Wednesday, Sandilands suspected Doran was upset that he wasn’t chosen to replace David “Kochie” Koch as the new co-host of Seven’s Today show.
Instead, former Olympic sprinter Matt Shirvington won the coveted role, officially replacing Kochie on Monday — the same day Doran was sent to the Hunter Valley.
Radioshock jock Kyle Sandilands (left) has come up with a theory to explain Tuesday’s disappearance of Channel Seven presenter Matt Doran (right).
“He’s still mad that Shirvo got the big Kochie job.” Because [Doran is] “The Weekend Sunrise guy, so you’d think he was in contention for Kochie’s job,” Sandilands speculated.
“But no, not after the Adele fiasco,” he added, referring to Doran’s disastrous interview with British Grammy-winning singer Adele in November 2021.
Discussing the incident on The Kyle And Jackie O Show on Wednesday, Sandilands suspected Doran was upset that he wasn’t chosen to replace David “Kochie” Koch as the new co-host of Seven’s Today show. (Pictured is Doran filling in for Kochie on Sunrise with Natalie Barr.)
Instead, former Olympic sprinter Matt Shirvington (pictured) won the coveted role, officially replacing Kochie on Monday – the same day Doran was sent to the Hunter Valley
Insiders said Doran’s producer went to see him at his hotel in Singleton – but the knock on his bedroom door went unanswered.
Concerned colleagues then contacted the police, who issued a missing persons warning for the entire region.
“Officials from Hunter Police District Port Stephens received a report earlier this morning of concern for the wellbeing of a 40-year-old man,” New South Wales Police told Chron Australia.
“The officers conducted an investigation and a short time later found a man.” There are no further police measures.”
Channel Seven reporter Matt Doran is pictured with his wife Kendall Bora
A Channel Seven insider told the Chron Australia Doran’s wife, Kendall Bora, an executive producer on Channel Nine’s Today show, suddenly left work and went to the area to look for her husband.
“Matt Doran didn’t show up for work today. That’s a fact,” a source told Chron Australia.
News reporter Liam Tapper was seen live from Cessnock on Sunrise on Tuesday morning. It remains unclear if he was already scheduled for that date or if he was acting as Doran’s replacement.
Chron Australia has reached out to Channel Seven for comment.
In the picture, Doran is reporting on Monday’s bus accident tragedy in the Hunter Valley
The incident came just weeks after Doran put his lavish two-bedroom apartment on Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s posh eastern suburbs up for sale.
The home is set to be auctioned by BresicWhitney on June 24 with a suggested asking price of $1.8 million.
Doran, who began his career as a police reporter for the Herald Sun, joined Network Seven in 2017 after spending nearly eight years on Network Ten’s newsroom.
Two years later, he was promoted to his current role as co-host of Weekend Sunrise – alongside Monique Wright – after temporarily filling in for Koch.
During his time at the channel, Doran was no stranger to controversy – he made global headlines after a disastrous interview with Adele in November 2021.
The journalist had been sent to London with a team of Seven for an exclusive interview with the Hello hitmaker, as part of a promotion for the release of her highly anticipated new album ’30’.
News reporter Liam Tapper was seen live from Cessnock on Sunrise on Tuesday morning
However, Adele was offended when Doran admitted he hadn’t listened to the album before the interview – resulting in the $1million deal falling through.
At the time, it was said that Doran had been suspended by the broadcaster for two weeks because of the incident. However, he later claimed there was no formal suspension and that he had merely taken a week off.
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