EXCLUSIVE
Georgie Gardner has been seen looking disheveled and distressed following the revelations. Nine is investigating allegations that she lost her temper with a young female colleague during an on-set incident last month.
The high-profile presenter was seen crying in her car on Monday morning after spending more than an hour locked in a “very animated” conversation on her phone.
The veteran newsreader was still puffy-eyed when she later ordered a coffee at the popular Mosman Cafe, near her palatial home on Sydney’s affluent north shore.
The sighting comes just a day after it was revealed Nine was investigating Gardner after receiving a complaint about an alleged “hot” spray he had at the broadcaster’s Sydney studios.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the star news presenter has been accused of confronting a young female staffer as she walked off air after presenting the Saturday evening news bulletin on August 31.
The alleged incident is understood to have been triggered by a problem with the teleprompter.
Georgie Gardner has been seen looking distraught and disheveled following revelations she is being investigated at Nine over an alleged spray she gave to a junior employee at the broadcaster’s Sydney studio.
Gardner presents Nine’s news bulletin on the night of his alleged on-set tirade
Nine has launched an internal investigation into the alleged encounter after the producer, who Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name, filed an official complaint.
Gardner disappeared from her regular weekend news anchor duties for two weeks following the alleged incident.
But she returned to the airwaves on Friday evening, with colleagues reportedly confirming she had actually been absent due to a scheduled leave.
The internal investigation could not come at a worse time for either the network’s highly paid news anchor or Nine.
The veteran news anchor’s contract is one of those being closely reviewed by the company’s financial controllers as the cash-strapped network desperately tries to rein in costs.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the Sydney-based presenter is currently being paid $600,000 a year to read the news two nights a week.
The exorbitant salary is a legacy of Gardner’s brief reign as co-host of the network’s Today show alongside fellow news anchor Deb Knight in 2019, following Nine’s failed experiment with a new all-female lineup.
Senior sources at the network said the deal was no longer “justifiable” and she was among several key stars expected to take massive pay cuts in the coming months.
The star was seen for the first time on Monday since news of the internal investigation broke.
Georgie Gardner and Deb Knight co-presented Nine’s Today breakfast show for a year (alongside then news presenter Tom Steinfort) in 2019 before the experiment was deemed a failure.
Last month, Nineteen cut nearly 200 jobs across its television, radio and newspaper empire in a bid to slash $30 million from its operating budget.
More cuts are on the horizon, with the company’s chief financial officer warning the media giant was looking to cut another $50m from its underlying costs this financial year.
Insiders have revealed that the contract of every one of the network’s on-air stars is currently “under review” as part of a brutal cost-cutting audit – and that no one was safe.
The broadcaster is also in the midst of an ongoing review of its newsroom culture after receiving complaints of endemic harassment and bullying.
Gardner remained under wraps Sunday as news of the internal investigation into his alleged conduct became public.
There is no suggestion that Gardner engaged in any misconduct, only that a complaint has been filed and an investigation is underway.
The star ventured out on Monday morning to walk her dog through the tree-lined streets surrounding her Mosman home.
Gardner spent an hour locked in a “very animated” conversation on her mobile phone before grabbing a coffee at the popular Mosman Cafe on Military Road on Monday morning.
The star was spotted sporting a “post-op” shoe on her left foot while walking her dog.
She then took a short walk alone before stopping in front of the cafe on Military Road and making a phone call from her parked car.
Witnesses said she spent more than an hour on her mobile phone and was seen “rubbing her hands through her hair” and “wiping her eyes” during the intense conversation before heading out for a morning coffee.
“She looked clearly distressed in the car, even as she drove by you could tell she was having a very animated conversation,” a witness told Daily Mail Australia.
Nine has declined to comment on the complaint filed against Gardner.
However, the broadcaster’s director of news and current affairs, Fiona Dear, said in a statement: “Georgie Gardner is a long-serving and highly respected member of our Nine News team. We will not be commenting further.”
The indictment is not the only battle Gardner is currently facing.
The news anchor was spotted wearing a ProCare “post-op” shoe on her left foot while drinking coffee on Monday, fueling speculation that her recent absence is related to medical dramas.
Want to know more? Email Steven.Jackson@mailonline.com
