TV veteran Georgie Gardner was noticeably absent from her newsreading slot on Friday night.
The Channel Nine presenter reads the news every Friday and Saturday night for the network but was missing from her post this week and was instead replaced by Mark Burrows.
Her absence comes after a fiery in-studio clash 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 over the Saturday night news bulletin on August 31.
A TV source told Daily Mail the alleged incident was sparked over the way Gardner’s scripts had been prepared prior to going on air.
‘Georgie turned up in a terrible mood,’ they said.
‘She didn’t think the rundown was satisfactory or the way the intros (to news stories) were written – and basically said it was s***.
‘The mood was tense and she insisted on rewriting the intros herself.
‘The junior producer (who Daily Mail has chosen not to name) said she wasn’t finished with them yet, prompting Georgie to walk behind her and snap at her to ”grow up”.’
According to the source, the heated argument continued into the studio as the scripts were loaded into the teleprompter.
At least part of the exchange was allegedly recorded and handed over to management for an internal inquiry following an official complaint.
‘It was intense but a lot of people were there and witnessed the argument,’ the source said.
Gardner disappeared from her regular weekend newsreading duties for two weeks following the alleged altercation.
However, she was reportedly on scheduled leave and returned to work last Friday evening.
Nine has refused to publicly comment on the complaint made against Gardner.
However, the network’s director of news and current affairs, Fiona Dear, said in a statement: ‘Georgie Gardner is a highly regarded longstanding member of our Nine News team.
‘We offer no further comment.’
It is not suggested that Gardner engaged in any improper conduct, only that a complaint has been made and an investigation is taking place.