???After weeks of speculation, Georgie Gardner has been confirmed as Karl Stefanovic's co-host on Today.
The experienced journalist will start her new role on the Channel Nine breakfast show in January.
Sources say Gardner initially rejected Nine's overtures, but CEO Hugh Marks sweetened the deal with a pay rise.
She appeared on air just before 8am on Thursday, to make her announcement.
Gardner addressed "conjecture" about supposed tension between her and Stefanovic by saying, "We've had our bumps, we've had our laughs ... you know how much I respect you."
The pair previously worked together for seven years on Today, when Gardner was the show's newsreader. She left that role in 2014.
Stefanovic paid tribute to his new co-anchor by telling viewers: "She likes to keep you guessing.
"She's very committed to making sure the info is right, [which is] a great attribute to have.
"She is connected to what other mums feel out there ... she is going to bring that to the table ... she has a wicked sense of humour and is a very funny woman."
Gardner described the announcement as a "pinch me moment".
"It's a huge decision I take very seriously ... I've consulted with the whole family."
Speaking with Fairfax Media, Gardner described her new role as the best job on Australian TV.
"It's like none other; it's a platform that gives you that opportunity to connect with people in every part of this country, in the cities and in every corner.
"It's a wonderful opportunity to discuss issues of national interest, to shine a light on issues people are concerned about, to inform and entertain, and hopefully rekindle the lovely relationship I had over the seven years prior.
"Karl and I obviously go back a long way. I enjoy his company enormously. He is predictably unpredictable ... but I relish a challenge. Jokes aside, there is so much I can learn from him.
"He's a larrikin; he knows he sometimes goes to far but that's OK. At the end of the day, he's entertaining and he loves to make people laugh. I'm really looking forward to the challenge."
Last week, arch-rival Sunrise averaged 523,000 viewers to Today's 398,000. In the five major cities, Sunrise was also ahead on 303,000 - winning in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth - while Today averaged 265,000.
Nine is hoping Gardner will boost audiences, following weeks of turmoil since the popular Lisa Wilkinson announced her departure.
Wilkinson will soon co-host Ten's flagship panel show, The Project, two days a week. Other roles will be announced in the new year. Sources say Ten - buoyed by its takeover by American network CBS - plans to make her one of its major stars.
Gardner currently appears on Nine's Sydney news bulletin, and will fill in for host Peter Overton in December.
She grew up in Perth and spent two years in Milan, learning Italian and working as a nanny.
In 1992, she took a cadetship with Newcastle radio station 2NX, and was named best newcomer during that year's RAWARDS (now knows as the Commercial Radio Awards).
In 1994, she moved to Sydney with 2Day FM. She later joined Ten, then Seven, where she worked on Sunrise and other programs. In 2002, she shifted to Nine.
Gardner told Fairfax Media she would like to be "very involved in the production side of things".
"I've already voiced that quite clearly, and Mark Calvert, the executive producer, is really open to my suggestions and ideas. I've had the privilege of sitting on the sidelines over the past three years and watching Today as a viewer.
"I've got some fresh ideas I would love to inject into the show."
