Ally’s last laugh: Ally Langdon’s bold move to A Current Affair pays off as her old show Today continues to struggle with Seven’s Sunrise
- Ally Langdon’s move to ACA as a performance host was a hit with viewers and Nine colleagues
- Langdon only won the gig after Nine auditioned several other candidates
- The former Today co-host has ‘more than filled Tracy Grimshaw’s shoes’
It was the gig that didn’t come easy for Ally Langdon.
But the popular Nine presenter, who beat a host of other contenders in what was a frenzied race for the coveted job, has the last laugh as the new host of A Current Affair.
Fresh off its first official ratings period of 2023, Langdon has helped lift ACA’s ratings to some of the highest in recent years – and her debut beat Tracy Grimshaw’s numbers from the same day a year ago by about 30,000 viewers.
In the final week of its ratings season, ACA recorded the highest ratings episode of the year—1.1 million—in metro, regional, and BVOD (broadcaster on-demand video) markets.
Viewers have also expressed their approval, with an early series Langdon produced on domestic violence receiving critical acclaim on social media.
Langdon has the last laugh as the new host of A Current Affair
Langdon has helped A Current Affair to impressive ratings for early 2023
“Stellar Job tonight Ally,” a Facebook commenter said after the segment aired.
“Ally was 100 percent the right choice,” said one viewer.
“Great interview Ally – welcome to A Current Affair,” said another.
“If this is the direction she’s taking the show, I think I might watch more.”
Behind the scenes, colleagues at Nine say Langdon’s impressive start to the viewing year has been “quietly applauded” by her allies at the network’s North Sydney headquarters, given that she faced some management setbacks.
“There were definitely people who didn’t want to see her in that role,” a Nine insider told the Daily Mail Australia.
“But she certainly proved them wrong and did so in a very short time.
“She’s more than filled Tracy’s shoes.”
Sources at Nine say a number of other hosting options have been seriously considered, and even Langdon’s longtime co-host at Today – Karl Stefanovic – is said to be excited about the job.
“There were definitely people who didn’t want to see her in that role,” a Nine insider told the Daily Mail Australia.
Langdon with husband Mike Willesee Jr – the son of former ACA host Mike Willesee
The network openly auditioned a number of candidates, including Chris O’Keefe, Sylvia Jeffreys and Deborah Knight, before Langdon landed the breakout role – a role once filled by her father-in-law Mike Willesee.
Speaking on the news that she landed the gig – via a phone call – Langdon said her husband Mike Willesee Jr was “incredibly proud” and shared some advice handed down to her from Grimshaw.
“I talked to Trace a lot leading up to the host announcement and I remember a conversation we had while she was driving for her last show,” she told the Herald Sun.
‘She said; “Just be yourself, Ally, be yourself and follow what you want to follow.”
‘She said; “Just be yourself, Ally, be yourself and follow what you want to follow”; Langdon says about Grimshaw
Karl Stefanovic now hosts Today with Sarah Abo. Today has yet to win a week against Sunrise in 2023
Channel Nine confirmed in December that Ally would be leaving her co-hosting role on Today to replace outgoing ACA host Grimshaw, with 60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo as her replacement.
Today, however, remains in a losing battle with Seven’s Sunrise, which won seven consecutive ratings weeks prior to its no-ratings hiatus.
