Two female journalists battle it out to replace Alex Cullen's role on the Today show after he was sensationally axed from the breakfast program

Two female Channel Nine journalists are currently the front runners for Alex Cullen's presenting role on the Today show, after he was sensationally axed for accepting $50,000 from The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal that experienced sport presenters Roz Kelly and Danika Mason are the top contenders to join the desk alongside co-hosts Sarah Abo and Karl Stefanovic.

TV insiders believe Kelly, 9News Sydney's sports presenter for Friday and Saturday evenings, is the 'obvious first choice'.

But the mother-of-two, who is married to South African cricketer and India national cricket team bowling coach Morne Morkel, may struggle to balance the demands of her five-day-a-week breakfast show role while her husband is away for long periods throughout the year.

'She's polished and the viewers already know her and love her. But she's got two young sons and her husband has to travel to India a lot for work,' a source tells Daily Mail Australia.

'Right now, her life is really finely balanced and in a good place so she might not be too keen to take on all the pressures and demands of live television five days a week.

'Danika is also equally amazing and is the other really strong contender that everyone is talking about at the moment.'

The insider adds that A Current Affair reporter Neil Breen - who was once one of Nine's most senior sports journalists, executives and presenters - is at 'really long odds'.

'He used to run the show and, while everyone from that time has just about moved on, except Karl and Dickie [Richard Wilkins], he's now doing really well reporting on A Current Affair,' they note.

Another source suggested that Danika was actually the top pick for the position, with her loyal NRL fan base seen as an advantage as ratings return on Sunday.

'Danika would have to be the top pick - she's an absolute live wire, which is what you need at breakfast, and is a hard-worker who throws herself into every challenge with everything she's got,' they tell Daily Mail Australia.

'While nothing has been decided as yet, she's definitely in strong consideration.' 

Last month, hosts Stefanovic and Abo announced that Cullen wouldn't be returning to the program.

'As most of you are well aware, our colleague Alex Cullen has not been on air with us this past week,' a solemn Stefanovic told viewers live on air.

'There has been widespread reporting on the circumstances surrounding this, what I can say is that last night, Alex and Nine agreed that he would finish with the network.

'Alex has, of course, been part of the Today family for five years now, he's always ready with a smile and a laugh and without hesitation speaking for all of us here, we can say that we are going to miss him terribly, that's for sure.

'Alex is a terrific fella, what you see is what you get and he has been a great mate to all of us over these years and we wish Alex, his wife Bonnie and his beautiful kids all the very best for the future.'

Cullen, 44, was gifted the sizeable sum after he was the first media personality to use Portelli's self-proclaimed nickname 'McLaren Man' live on air last week - sparking a firestorm.

The scandal kicked off when Portelli had grown tired of his long-used nickname 'Mr Lambo' and offered the cash reward to the first person to use his new moniker on air, with Cullen obliging on the Today show last Friday.

The Block entrepreneur then posted what appeared to be a bank transfer of $50,000 to the presenter on Instagram.

Accepting cash, gifts or benefits to undermine journalistic independence, and improperly using a journalistic position for personal gain, are both breaches of the journalism code of ethics as defined by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance union.

The ill-advised stunt led to Cullen being suspended by Nine and he did not appear on the show while the network investigated the payment. The sum has been donated to charity by Portelli.

A Nine spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'Nine has agreed with Today presenter and journalist Alex Cullen that he will finish with the network following a review into a recent incident.' 

Days following the incident, Cullen resurfaced on social media to share a birthday tribute to his daughters on Instagram.

He posted an array of sweet pictures of his twin daughters Audrey and Evie celebrating their sixth birthday.

Alex - who shares three children with his wife Bonnie - also shared pictures of his son Max, three, as he enjoyed some low-key family time on the special day.

In a caption, he gushed: 'Happy birthday to my darling girls Audrey and Evie.'

While he made no mention of the Portelli scandal, he did get support from his followers, who took to the comments  to share their hopes he will soon return to air.

One wrote: 'Happy birthday not watching channel nine till your back,' while another said: 'Missing you! You are just the best! Wake up Channel 9.'

A third commented: 'Gorgeous girls. Can't believe they're 6 already! Just heard about all the work drama. Hope it gets resolved quickly.'

While a fourth penned: 'Boycotting 9 until you're back!' and another added: 'Happy birthday young ladies - hoping to see you back home on 9 really soon.'

His Nine co-stars Karl and Belinda Russell also sent birthday messages to his two daughters.

During his absence from the Today show, Cullen has been replaced by Clint Stanaway, who is reporting live from Melbourne for Nine's coverage of the Australian Open tennis.

Nine's parting of ways with Cullen went ahead despite Portelli's claim that Cullen intended the money to be paid to charity all along. 

Portelli posted details of $25,000 payments made on his behalf to both the Salvation Army and the RSPCA.

'Alex Cullen… on behalf of you, mate, $25,000 to the Salvation Army and $25,000 to the RSPCA,' Portelli wrote on Instagram. 

'I've kept pretty quiet about what unfolded with Alex, but even before he'd heard from Ch9, we had a conversation where he expressed his desire to donate the money.

'That speaks volumes about his character. Alex, you're an absolute gentleman.

'If Ch9 let you go (though I really hope they don't!), I'd be more than happy to collaborate with you on something. True class, mate!'

Max Markson, who has been a leading PR agent for 50 years, earlier this week said although it was 'not normal' behaviour for a presenter to accept such rewards, he believed Cullen had clearly done so in a light-hearted fashion.

'I am sure they didn't think they were going to get the $50,000 but then they got it and unfortunately Alex has been stood down for the moment, which is crazy,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday. 

'He shouldn't have taken the $50,000 obviously, but he's given it back. I don't think that's the reason they did it, they did it as a joke, obviously.'

Mr Markson did not think it would do Cullen's TV career any lasting damage and predicted that he will be back on air within seven days.

Nine insiders also told Daily Mail Australia that the stunt could have been beneficial for the network and Portelli, if Cullen had advised the promoter that, as a journalist, he was unable to accept any payment for making the comment on-air. 

Portelli first received the unwanted nickname 'Mr Lambo' after turning up to a 2022 auction of popular house makeover show The Block in a yellow Lamborghini.

Cullen joined Today for its relaunch five years ago. He was initially solely the sports presenter, but took over news when Tracy Vo quit the show and returned to 9News Perth.