The shocking reason Sam Armytage has been absent from Sunrise for four weeks
Fan favourite Sam Armytage hasn’t been seen on the set of Sunrise for over a month as she continues to recover from a “respiratory illness”.
Armytage, 43, was first absent from the show seven weeks ago on February 26, claiming she was “at home, sick as a dog”.
Fans first learned of her absence from the show via an Instagram story posted on March 17th.
'Hi all... I'm taking a few weeks off work as I've had a respiratory infection (for three months) since the bushfires and it just won't heal,' she wrote.
'I don't have coronavirus, but I'm worried I'll get it if I don't get better. Thought it was a good time to lie low.'
She provided an update on March 23rd, praising Natalie Barr for filling in for her so she can “rest and recover as quickly as possible”.
Armytage also slammed newspaper gossip writer Annette Sharp, saying that she was “setting the record straight after almost 10 years of her obsessive (and mostly wrong!) writing about me.”
The two Instagram posts appear to be screenshots of text messages to Sharp, debunking Sharp’s latest accusations and addresses her absence on Sunrise.
“I’m not sure where you get your information from, but it’s consistently wrong. I gave up my Christmas holiday to cover the bushfires and the consistent exposure to the smoke has left me with a respiratory infection, which is impossible to shake when you get up at 3 am each day”.
“I’m very fortunate to have Nat to back me up, so that I can rest and recover as quickly as possible (& she’s doing a wonderful job).
“I’m NOT off contract at the end of 2020, no social media posts have been deleted (insta stories delete themselves after 24 hours) and I have NEVER asked 7 for a 4 day week).”
There has been no update since, although recent posts on Instagram seem to indicate she may have made a full recovery after a sweet post with her boyfriend Richard Lavender on the couch watching the races.
“Ready for Randwick” she wrote in the caption, and then joked that the best part about watching it from home was “no queue for the loo”.
Fans are wishing Armytage a speedy recovery in the comments.
“Where have you been we miss you on the morning show,” one fan wrote.
“Wishing you a speedy recovery! You are missed on Sunrise, take care,” another agreed.
“Keep safe and well, hoping you return to Sunrise soon.”