TV veteran Georgie Gardner was noticeably absent from her news anchor role on Friday evening.
The Channel Nine presenter reads the news for the channel every Friday and Saturday evening, but was missing from her post this week and was instead replaced by Mark Burrows.
Her absence comes after a fiery clash in the studio between the 54-year-old and a junior female producer last month.
The star newsreader – who earns $600,000 a year to present the news twice a week – blew up at the junior colleague during the Saturday evening news bulletin on August 31.
A TV source told Daily Mail Australia that the alleged incident stemmed from the way Gardner’s scripts were prepared before going on air.
“Georgie showed up in a terrible mood,” they said.
“She didn’t like the overview or the way the intros (to news stories) were written – and basically said damn it.
‘The mood was tense and she insisted on rewriting the intros herself.
TV veteran Georgie Gardner was noticeably absent from her news anchor role on Friday evening
“The junior producer (whom Daily Mail Australia prefers not to name) said she wasn’t done with it yet, prompting Georgie to walk behind her and snap at her to ‘grow up’.”
According to the source, the heated argument continued in the studio as the scripts were loaded into the teleprompter.
At least part of the exchange was allegedly recorded in response to an official complaint and turned over to management for internal investigation.
“It was intense, but there were a lot of people there who witnessed the fight,” the source said.
Gardner disappeared from her regular news anchor duties for two weeks the weekend after the alleged altercation.
However, she was reportedly on planned leave and returned to work last Friday evening.
Nine has declined to comment publicly on the complaint against Gardner.
However, the network’s director of news and current affairs, Fiona Dear, said in a statement: ‘Georgie Gardner has long been a highly regarded member of our Nine News team.
‘We will have no further comment.’
There is no suggestion that Gardner has engaged in inappropriate conduct, only that a complaint has been made and an investigation is underway.
Daily Mail Australia previously revealed the star newsreader – who earns $600,000 a year presenting the news twice a week – exploded on a junior colleague during the Saturday evening news bulletin on August 31.
