An awkward interaction between Tracy Grimshaw and her rumored A Current Affair replacement Allison Langdon has been caught on camera.
Grimshaw concluded her 17-year run as the show’s presenter on Thursday evening and was sent off with applause, hugs and well wishes from her Channel Nine colleagues as she left the ACA studio for the very last time.
Footage of her farewell at the Nine studios shows Grimshaw walking through a guard of honor and when Langdon goes to hug her, she appears to reject the embrace.
Tracy Grimshaw appeared to reject Allison Langdon’s hug after she presented her last ever A Current Affair when she was sent away by her Channel Nine colleagues
After hugging several members of staff, including Karl Stefanovic and Peter Overton, Grimshaw walked past Langdon who had her arms out for a hug.
But Grimshaw brushed her brutally and seemed to shake her head before hugging another colleague down the hall.
On the Today show this morning, Langdon delved into the awkward moment, admitting she “didn’t get much sleep” after the incident.
“That breaks my heart,” Langdon said, watching the clip.
Footage shows Grimshaw walking through a ‘guard of honour’ and when Langdon went to hug her, she appeared to reject the hug
Grimshaw brushed her brutally and seemed to shake her head before hugging another colleague down the hall
‘I’m devastated. I mean, I turned to you at the time and said, “Tracy Grimshaw just brushed me.” When you get brushed by your hero, I must say it hurts.’
Langdon is highly tipped to replace Grimshaw as host of the show and an announcement is expected to be made by Nine next week.
Kyle Sandilands appeared to confirm Langdon is replacing Grimshaw during an interview with the long-running presenter on Wednesday.
Speaking to Grimshaw on his KIIS FM radio show, the shock jock said he knew it was the Today show host.
Kyle claimed to have had a private conversation with Karl Stefanovic, co-host of Langdon’s Today show, who asked him for advice on a possible replacement for her.
“I feel like I know because I’ve talked to [Karl] Stefanovic,” he told Grimshaw after confronting her about her replacement.
“Well, let me just tell everyone it’s Ally. It’s not my intention to burst the Channel Nine bubble.’
Sandilands said Stefanovic had not told him their conversation was “confidential.”
‘Maybe that was a personal conversation? I don’t know… But he didn’t ask me not to say anything,’ he continued.
Grimshaw remained coy when pressuring rumors of who her replacement will be, saying any candidate for the job is “an exemplary person.”
Grimshaw was sent off with applause, hugs and well wishes from her Channel Nine colleagues
“I really hope Channel Nine would replace me with a dud,” she joked.
“Unfortunately, they’re replacing me with someone excellent.”
“I can’t possibly give you a hint, but you’ll soon know,” she added. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you found out next week.”
On her last show, a tearful Grimshaw thanked Australians for their support of A Current Affair, as a slew of famous faces bid farewell to the longtime presenter after 17 years on the show.
The TV veteran has been honored by celebrities and regular Aussies who have helped her show through the years, and her replacement has yet to be announced.
The presenter, who has interviewed the likes of Oprah, Ellen Degeneres, Celine Dion and Sharon Stone in her 40-year career, was presented with a bouquet of flowers when she told viewers that they would “soon” find out who would take her place.
“I’m terrible at the GB word, you know, the word that ends with ‘bye’ and begins with ‘good’, because I’m going to bluff and you all know it won’t be pretty,” Grimshaw said.
“But seriously, when I started here, my bosses at the time said they didn’t like interviews longer than four minutes because you would get bored.
And now look at us. The whole show can do interviews like that because you told us you love them. Thanks for looking.’
A tearful Grimshaw was given a bouquet of flowers as she teased viewers that they would find out ‘soon’ who would take her place on A Current Affair
Grimshaw paid tribute to the entire Channel Nine team and gave a special shout-out to ‘Daria’ who she says has done her auto cue since the Today Show.
A series of high-profile Aussies paid tribute to Grimshaw, with her colleagues praising her journalistic skill and ability to connect with everyday Australians.
Anthony Albanese, Hamish and Andy, Kyle Sandilands, Ita Buttrose, John Howard, Ray Hadley and Leigh Sales were just a few familiar faces.
Mr. Albanese asked if Australian television would ever be the same, while Kyle Sandilands applauded Grimshaw for always putting her guests at ease.
On her latest episode, Grimshaw spoke to flood victims in Eugowra in the central NSW town, who received a live on-air donation of $50,000 from Coles.
Former 7.30am presenter Leigh Sales and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said goodbye to Grimshaw on Thursday night, with Mr Albanese asking if Australian TV would ever be the same
The show took a trip down memory lane and returned to some of Grimshaw’s most notable interviews, including Sue and Lloyd Clarke – the parents of domestic violence victim Hannah Clarke – the Irwin family and Olivia Newton John.
Grimshaw’s emotional farewell comes just weeks after the former Today host arrived in Melbourne to film her “very special hometown episode,” which aired last week.
In September, the veteran presenter announced she was quitting A Current Affair, later revealing she planned to take a year off to improve her work-life balance.
