Sam Armytage admits she was ‘hungover’ on her first day on Sunrise

Sam Armytage’s last day on Sunrise is set to be an emotional affair.

But on Wednesday, the Channel Seven breakfast show aired a short clip of her first day on the job, way back in 2013.

After watching the archive footage, the 44-year-old made the surprising revelation that she had in fact been hungover at the time.

In the 2013 video, Sam looked fresh-faced as she told co-hosts David Koch, Mark Beretta and Natalie Barr: ‘It’s like the first day of school, I was a bit nervous last night.’

Back in the Sunrise studio, a sheepish-looking Sam admitted to her colleagues: ‘I’ve got a confession to make.’

‘What’s the confession? You were drunk?’ David asked. 

‘I wasn’t drunk, but I was hungover. I don’t look like it, do I?’ she said, before adding: ‘I could not handle a hangover like that these days.’ 

She explained she had been out partying with her old colleagues from Weekend Sunrise the day before, after covering the City to Surf running event.

‘They had a farewell for me down at Bondi and got led astray by our boss,’ Sam said, suggesting executive producer Michael Pell was to blame.

David groaned in disbelief, and Natalie remarked: ‘You can’t help that.’

Despite feeling worse for wear on her first day, Sam said: ‘I fronted up and I looked fresh. So you have never known that for eight years!’

‘And things haven’t changed eight years on,’ David joked.

Sam tearfully announced her resignation live on air on Monday, after hosting Seven’s top-rating breakfast show for eight years.

She said: ‘The time has come for the sun to set on my time at Sunrise. I have always been brave and fearless in my career and this decision is no different.’

She explained she was leaving of her own choosing, and was looking forward to life away from the spotlight after a ‘bittersweet’ year that included the death of her mother Libby and her marriage to businessman Richard Lavender.

‘I want to step out of this public world for a while and take some time and calm things down, enjoy a bit of slow living, and spend some time with my precious family, my husband and [dog] Banjo,’ she said.

‘I go out of this job at a time of my own choosing and on top of the ratings, which not many people on television can say they do.

‘I’m extremely proud of my almost eight years at the helm of Sunrise, my seven years before that at Weekend Sunrise, and my almost 18 years with the Seven Network.’

Her announcement followed months of rumours she was preparing to leave Sunrise in order to spend more time with Richard, 60, at his country estate in the NSW Southern Highlands.

Sam’s last day on Sunrise will be Thursday, but her $800,000-a-year contract with Seven doesn’t expire until October. 

Newsreader Natalie will be stepping in to replace her, reports TV Blackbox.