Jayne Azzopardi and Clint Stanaway, joined by news presenter Sophie Walsh, are the perfect match for Weekend Today.
“I’m a sports veteran, Jayne’s all about politics and I love Sophie’s cheek and humour,” Clint says.
“And we’re all from different parts of they country. I’m unashamedly a Melbourne guy, Jayne’s from the Sydney shire and Sophie’s a Queenslander at heart and I love that about us. And I think that’s really showcased on our show,” he adds.
“We’ve known each other for a long time as colleagues,” Clint explains.
Clint began his career in news before moving to sport and spending time reporting from London.
Jayne began her time at Nine as a finance reporter.
“Then I was in Wagga Wagga and then I started at WIN and worked in Canberra and Wollongong for them, then the Sydney rounds and some overseas stuff, including London,” Jayne added.
“See, Jayne’s the sensible one. She started out in finance. Right there is the contrast between us,” Clint jokes.
Jayne and Clint’s long and varied careers make them the perfect hosts for a show which is a weekend blend of news, politics, lifestyle and entertainment stories.
Clint explains:
“We’re good listeners, and I’m really excited to sort of showcase people’s stories.”
“There’s no doubt, I think both of us, and including Sophie, we want to bring a relaxed sort of vibe to the show and have some fun, but as well as keeping people entertained, we know we have a responsibility to keeping people informed as well.”
Jayne adds: “Because during the week, everybody’s so rushed, trying to get the kids off to school and get out the door to work. On the weekend everything happens at a little bit of a slower pace.
“So you can have us on the TV while you’re eating breakfast and having your coffee and there’ll be interesting conversations and also maybe helping you make sense of things that have happened during the week that you’ve heard about but you haven’t really had a chance to read a lot about it because it’s too busy.”
Jayne says her time on the show with Clint has “just been so easy”.
“We have each other’s backs. We all trust each other to be able to do our jobs properly, and all actually really, really like each other,” she says.
”Except when I read Jayne’s lines on the auto cue,” Clint adds.
The new Weekend Today team are perfectly placed ahead of one of the biggest stories they will cover in 2023, King Charles III’s coronation on May 6.
Jayne and Clint vote Sophie as their die-hard royal fan, with Jayne looking forward to working on the historic event and Clint “cheering for the underdog” Harry.
“There’s a team behind the scenes too, which we should definitely point out, because we’ve got fantastic producers and they work so hard and keep us on our toes,” Jayne shares. “They pull us up if we’re talking for a bit too long and keep things running to time.”
“Because when we get started we can be hard to shut up!” Clint adds.
When asked to share something about Clint the audience may not know, Jayne explains he is a “great guy” and “fantastic uncle.”
“Not just to his own nieces and nephews but to all his friend’s kids as well,” she continues. “He’s actively involved in their lives and tells stories about them and shows me pictures of them.”
“And Jayne’s obviously a fantastic mum and she’s incredibly funny as well,” Clint chimes in. “And she keeps me in check which I love.”
It sounds like Jayne and Clint have good chemistry. That is going to be critical for Nine to make Weekend Today competitive again against Weekend Sunrise, where Matt and Monique have become a formidable pair.
Hi Ian – very true! Weekend Today are coming from a long run up and will need to lean into it.