Kylie Gillies has delivered the news every weekday for 18 years on The Morning Show, but there’s one story she has reported on that stands out – and not in a good way.
“We were live on air when the Lindt [Cafe] siege unfolded and the hostages were taken,” Kylie, 58, tells TV WEEK. “Our studios were located right in the Sydney CBD at that point, and with the view from the Channel Seven building, you could see right into Martin Place. Police snipers had moved into our building, and we were among the last to leave because we had to stay live on air until they switched over to the studio in Melbourne. That is one that definitely stays with us – and for all the bad reasons.”
Kylie has reported on many breaking news stories and done it all alongside her “best friend” and co-host, 2024’s TV WEEK Gold Logie winner, Larry Emdur, citing their dynamic as part of The Morning Show’s success.
“We have this sort of gorgeous rhythm that comes from sitting next to each other and working so closely together for 18 years,” the mother-of-two explains. “We’ve got families, we talk about our husbands and wives. I think a lot of viewers see their own family reflected in us – and we can banter until the cows come home.”
Being a girl from rural Tamworth, NSW, Kylie says her gig now as a glitzy entertainment and breaking news presenter is very different to how her career started out.
“I’m a Tamworth girl,” she declares. “I grew up in the country, started off in a regional newsroom, reporting sometimes from the middle of a paddock, doing three, four stories a day. I’m forever grateful that I get to come to work in a beautiful studio and talk about entertainment news, Hollywood and covering some big news stories. I’m grateful for what I’ve got here in the city.”
It was in Tamworth where she met her husband, fellow journalist Tony, who she says she clicked with immediately.
“I knew straight away [that he was the one],” Kylie says. “He worked on the country newspaper, The Northern Daily Leader, in Tamworth and I worked at the local TV station. We met both as working journalists in the same small country town, with shared interests and shared goals. But we used to compete for stories.
“We’ve gone through life side by side, certainly not me leading or certainly not him leading, but definitely shoulder to shoulder.”
After being married for 36 years, the pair have gone through life’s ups and downs, and done it all while parenting two very loved sons, Gus, 22, and Archie, 20, who are now old enough to fly the coop.
“Gus has already done an 18-month stint in Europe,” she says. “And he’s heading back there because his career path in film and commercial production has taken off. And my other son is at uni in the world of design. He’s in his third year and doing really well and finding his own way in the world as well. So maybe they both have a little bit of the media flair in their DNA somewhere.”
While Kylie is “secretly crying” that they are leaving her to forge their own paths, she is deeply proud.
“It’s both exciting and scary – and I’m happy and sad all at once,” she explains. “You know what? That’s actually what motherhood’s about. Feeling 87 emotions all at once.”
Now that she has the spare time to focus on herself, she has no plans of slowing down at work, but may look at a few more weekends away with her husband instead.
“We suddenly have all this time,” she says. “The kids used to have sometimes four games of footy in a weekend. Now those days are over, maybe we will start to travel a bit more.”
From the country newsroom to the glamorous world of entertainment reporting, Kylie has loved every step of her journey and enjoys how her role as The Morning Show host has given her balance.
“It has, although I hate that word,” she says with a laugh. “I have got so much more out of the show than what I’ve ever had to sacrifice. My two beautiful boys have grown up with their mum being known for The Morning Show, and me being able to pick them up from school. It has given me so much. It’s given me stable work. It’s given me my purpose.”
It’s also gifted her her proudest achievement – apart from her successful marriage and beautiful kids, of course.
“The fact that Larry and I are still steering The Morning Show makes me proud,” she reveals. “The fact that we’re still here, we still care, we’re still excited by it, we’re still asking what’s happening tomorrow – that longevity is what I’m most proud of. People can trust us and they can get a laugh with us. It’s a tough old business, and neither Larry nor I take it for granted, not for one millisecond, because the minute you start taking it for granted is the day the wheels fall off.”
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