Michael Willesee Jr’s big return to television had Today viewers divided, but we hear the big bosses have a secret ingredient to make his co-hosting gig work – his wife, Allison Langdon!
Mike, 56, has been sitting on the breakfast show desk with fan-favourite Sylvia Jeffreys, as Nine trials replacements for Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo.
While Mike was a left of field choice after 12 years off air, a TV insider says luring his wife Ally, 47, from A Current Affair back to the Today show would be the ultimate dream.
“Mike and Ally are already a dream team at home, there’s a natural shorthand between them and audiences love that,” says the source. “Breakfast TV works best when the hosts genuinely click, and this pairing would offer something we haven’t really seen before.
Mike and Ally tied the knot in 2008, and share two children, son Mack, nine, and daughter Scout, seven.
The insider says of recruiting the husband and wife, “With Sarah away on maternity leave and so much speculation around the show’s future, it’s the perfect opportunity to test something fresh without making it feel like a permanent overhaul.”
Ally was a hit with viewers when she co-hosted Today for nearly three years until late 2022, and there’s a strong feeling she’d be warmly welcomed back by studio crews and audiences alike.
‘Match made’ in morning show heaven!
“With Ally, producers love the idea of someone who can go from hard-hitting interviews to laughing about a pet alpaca in under 30 seconds,” the source says. “She’s got credibility and enough experience to hit the ground running. The audience already knows her, trusts her and she’d barely need directions to the studio. It’s a match made in brekky TV heaven.”
The viewer jury might still be still out on whether Mike is the right fit for the morning show, but our source says the audience just needs to give him – and his journalistic credibility – a chance.
“People forget just how much television is in Mike’s DNA,” the insider adds of Mike, whose late father Michael was an award-winning journalist in the world of current affairs. “The more viewers see him, the more they’ll warm to him. He’s got that quiet confidence that can’t be taught.
“Mike has so many of his dad’s qualities. He’s thoughtful, measured and commands respect the moment he starts asking questions. It’s exactly what made his father such a television icon, and producers think audiences will see those same qualities soon enough.”
