Sonia Kruger
TV host Sonia Kruger arrives at the premiere of The Bourne Ultimatum at the State Theatre in Sydney August 7, 2007. REUTERS/Patrick Riviere

With the next season of “Big Brother Australia” still uncertain, host Sonia Kruger has taken up another gig. The new mother has been announced as the co-presenter of “The Voice Australia” alongside Darren McMullen.

In a surprise announcement on Sunday, Channel 9 revealed that the 49-year-old “Morning” host will be the newest star power added to the reality talent show. English pop star Jessie J recently joined the show, with Delta Goodrem returning after a year of absence. Ricky Martin is still on, while Joel Madden is now joined by twin brother Benji Madden.

“I’ve been a fan of the show since it started and I reckon I’ve watched just about every episode that has ever gone to air,” Sonia said of her new role.

Darren, on the other hand, couldn’t be happier with sharing the stage with the seasoned TV host. “I get paid the same amount of money to do half the work,” the 33-year-old Scottish Australian quipped. “When is that ever going to be a bad thing?”

He added, “Plus, if there’s any stuff ups, I’m not solely to blame now!”

The blind auditions of the fourth season will begin in Sydney on Wednesday. As Darren warned Sonia, they would be rendering long time at work. He is more than happy to volunteer as a babysitter for Sonia’s baby daughter Maggie, though.

Sonia gave birth to Maggie in January at already 49 years old. When she announced her pregnancy in August, she made it clear that she conceived via in-vitro fertilisation, or IVF.

The addition of Sonia to “The Voice Australia” has been met with confusion from some viewers who question the new move. While there are many viewers who welcome the change, there are also those who suspect that Sonia has been added another hosting job because “Big Brother Australia” has been axed.

“Does that mean they’ve finally given Big Brother the axe?” one Facebook user questioned. “Maybe Big Brother is going back to 10 to be done properly?” another one wrote.

“Why on earth does the voice needs Sonia Krueger (sic) to co host? Darren does a fantastic job,” one commenter asked. “Darren was fine on his own. Why do you need a co-host?” someone else wrote.

Darren wasn’t always a lone host. He co-presented the show with Faustina Agolley from first to second season before he took solo flight in the third season. The fourth season of “The Voice Australia” hasn’t announced a launch date on air yet.