Troubled Channel Seven star Matt Doran has taken personal leave from the network after he sparked a frantic police search when he failed to turn up to work on Tuesday morning.
Doran, 40, vanished while on assignment in the Hunter Valley, where he was reporting on the horrific bus crash that shocked the nation over the long weekend.
He was later found in a café.
The high-profile crime reporter, who has a history of personal issues, was last seen speaking to members of the Singleton community on Monday afternoon at a local football ground.
Earlier, locals had seen Doran driving away from the home of newly married couple Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell, whose wedding was at the centre of the tragedy.
Seven star Matt Doran (pictured with wife Kendall Bora) has taken personal leave from the network after he sparked a frantic police search when he failed to turn up to work on Tuesday
One eyewitness remembers the surprising way he spoke to members of the Singleton Roosters football team, for whom several wedding guests played.
‘He seemed distracted when he was interviewing,’ the source told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He didn’t want to be there.’
Doran’s behaviour didn’t go unnoticed by viewers, with his coverage on Monday morning – the day after the fatal crash – attracting a number of critical tweets.
When the star reporter failed to answer calls, texts and emails ahead of his scheduled appearance on Sunrise on Tuesday, a producer went to find him at his Singleton hotel, only for knocks on his door to go unanswered.
Worried colleagues contacted police, who issued a missing persons alert across the region.
Doran was eventually found at a nearby café and swiftly replaced by his colleague Liam Tapper on air.
Doran is pictured reporting on the Hunter Valley bus crash tragedy on Monday – the day before he went missing
Seven is yet to issue a statement about Doran’s well-being; however, insiders say several factors could have contributed to his troubling behaviour.
One suggested Doran may have struggled with the confronting nature of the wedding bus crash tragedy.
Doran and his wife, Today show producer Kendall Bora, were believed to have been spending the long weekend at their $1.75million holiday home in Berowra Waters, north of Sydney, meaning he was one of the first reporters on the scene early Monday.
His live cross to Channel Seven’s studios was about 1km from the crash site where 10 wedding guests died.
‘You do wonder if that kind of job might be too much for someone prone to emotional stress,’ a Seven insider told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It would traumatise anybody, but especially someone who is particularly sensitive or struggling.’
Adding to that, Doran – until recently – was being touted as a possible replacement for retiring Sunrise host David Koch. The role instead went to Matt Shirvington.
Doran had been assigned to cover the bus crash on the same day Shirvington made his debut as Sunrise anchor alongside Natalie Barr.
Kyle Sandilands said he thought Doran was ‘dirty’ about missing out on the main Sunrise gig
Doran’s wife Kendall Bora is an executive producer of Nine’s rival breakfast show Today
Radio host Kyle Sandilands speculated Doran had struggled with being bumped from contention amid the fallout from his infamous Adele interview in late 2021.
‘He’s still dirty that Shirvo got the big Kochie job. Because [Doran is] the Weekend Sunrise guy, so you would have thought he’d have been in the running for Kochie’s job,’ Sandilands said.
‘But no, not after the Adele fiasco,’ he added, referring to Doran’s disastrous interview with the Grammy-winning singer during which he admitted he hadn’t listened to her album prior to the sit-down.
The British musician subsequently walked out in anger and the interview, which had reportedly cost the network $1million, never aired.
Ten people were killed and 25 others injured after a bus taking guests from a wedding back to accommodation in Singleton rolled onto its side (pictured)
NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday: ‘Earlier today officers from Port Stephens Hunter Police District received a concern for welfare report for a 40-year-old man.
‘Officers conducted inquiries and located a man a short time later. There is no further police action.’
It’s understood Doran’s wife Kendall Bora, an executive producer for Nine’s Today show, abruptly left work to head to the area to search for her husband.
Reporter Liam Tapper replaced Doran on Sunrise on Tuesday morning (seen in Cessnock)
‘Matt Doran didn’t show for work today. That’s a fact,’ a source said.
Channel Seven has been contacted for comment.
The incident comes just weeks after Doran listed his lavish two-bedroom Bellevue Hill apartment, in Sydney’s ritzy eastern suburbs, for sale.
The home is set to be auctioned by BresicWhitney on June 24 with a price guide of $1.8million.
Doran, who started his career as a police reporter at the Herald Sun, joined Seven in 2017 after spending almost eight years in Network Ten’s newsroom.
Two years later, he was promoted to his current role as co-host of Weekend Sunrise, alongside Monique Wright, after intermittently filling in for weekday host David Koch.
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