Karl described the guest as a ‘legend’.

Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo.

Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo were shocked when a guest flashed his underwear on live TV. Photos: Channel 9

Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo were left baffled during an interview on Thursday morning when their guest flashed his underwear on live TV. The pair were speaking with 57-year-old tradie Dean Bathurst after he went viral for taking down an alleged carjacker in a dramatic citizen’s arrest while wearing nothing but a pair of yellow SpongeBob Squarepants undies.

Dean explained on the breakfast show that he woke up to his 10-year-old daughter telling him there was an intruder in his car, and he went outside to investigate. He then noticed that his car doors were open, and he and his two sons tackled the man to the ground before police arrived.

While Karl and Sarah praised him as a hero, the most important question Karl had to ask him was whether he was wearing the SpongeBob jocks during the interview.

Tradie performing a citizen's arrest in his underwear.

Dean Bathurst went viral for taking down an alleged carjacker in a dramatic citizen’s arrest while wearing nothing but a pair of yellow SpongeBob Squarepants undies. Photos: 7NEWS

‘I was not expecting that’

Dean then stood up to reveal that he was, in fact, wearing the same pair of bright yellow underpants — although he insisted that they had been washed.

“Whoa, I was not expecting that!” Sarah exclaimed, to which Dean replied, “I was living in the hope that you would ask that”.

“Look at that rig. Look at the hammer behind the nails,” Karl remarked, describing him as a “legend”.

“That’s Australiana right there. We need more Deans. Just when I lose faith in this great country, along comes this man in his SpongeBob undies.”

Today tradie flashing his underwear on TV.

Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo were shocked when a guest flashed his underwear on live TV. Photos: Channel 9

Today 2026 hosts announced

The wild TV moment comes shortly after it was confirmed that Karl and Sarah would be returning to host Today in 2026.

They will be taking a break over December, with Today Extra’s David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys taking on the primary hosting duties.

Former Sunrise host Samantha Armytage and Nova radio host Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli will then take over from mid-December until the end of the year.

The show will then be led by Alison Piotrowski, Dr Nick Coatsworth, Joel Dry, and Jayne Azzopardi for the first few weeks of 2026.