Today show host Karl Stefanovic will leave Nine and is negotiating the terms of his exit after his chummy podcast interview with an extreme anti-immigration activist, it has been reported.

The episode with British far-right figure Tommy Robinson, which was pulled hours after being posted, sparked a full day of executive crisis talks at the network.

Nine newspapers reported on Thursday morning that the company had decided to cut ties with its long-standing breakfast show presenter, who has been with the network for more than 20 years.

Nine was negotiating terms for Stefanovic to leave after making the decision on Wednesday following crisis meetings at its North Sydney headquarters, the newspapers reported.

Stefanovic reportedly still had six months and $1 million remaining in his 12-month contract.

The host of the Nine Network’s flagship Today show interviewed Robinson in an almost-hour-long episode of The Karl Stefanovic Show, which is run independently of Nine.

Stefanovic had his arm draped around Robinson’s shoulders and did not interrogate the extremist figure, instead saying he admired his guest’s “tenacity” and “courage”.

Stefanovic introduced Robinson in the interview as “one of Britain’s most controversial figures”.

The podcast episode was published on Tuesday night. It had been taken down by the following morning.

It was resurrected on YouTube by Pauline Hanson, who Robinson praises several times during the interview.

Earlier on Wednesday, Nine made its strongest statement about Stefanovic’s contentious foray into podcasting, saying it was taking his most recent episode “seriously”.

“The Karl Stefanovic Show is a completely independent production,” a Nine spokesperson said earlier on Wednesday.

“Nine has no involvement, including in the guest selection and other editorial processes.

“However, Nine is taking this matter seriously.”

Why the episode was taken down or who made the call is not yet known, though it has been removed from Stefanovic’s YouTube channel, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Hanson posted the video on her YouTube channel on Wednesday morning, claiming Nine was “trying to sack my good friend Karl Stefanovic”.

She told Sky News that Nine would be “bloody stupid” to sack Stefanovic, and offered him a job with One Nation.

“They’ve gone so far to the left, Channel Nine, they’re making a big mistake,” Hanson said on Wednesday night.

“Hey, guess what, Karl? I’m looking for someone in my office. I want some advisers in my office. So, Karl, come and apply for a job with me. We’ll have a great time. We’ll put them all on notice and we’ll get the country back on track.”

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was a co-founder of the now-defunct anti-Islam English Defence League movement.

He has been banned from several social media platforms for violating rules on hateful conduct and hate speech and has multiple criminal convictions.

“I really do admire your tenacity and the courage that you’re showing in trying to stand up for what you believe is right,” Stefanovic said during the interview.

Stefanovic and Robinson discussed populist politics in Britain, the US and elsewhere.

“I love her, Pauline,” Robinson said of the One Nation leader, the first guest to feature in the inaugural episode of Stefanovic’s podcast.

“She’s been through what I’ve been through: She’s been condemned, attacked, battered, every name under the sun. And here she is, she’s carried on against all of that backlash.”

A promotional clip and an interview snippet of the interview remain active on Stefanovic’s X account.

In one clip, Robinson speaks about the costs of speaking out about immigration and Islam, touting his own experience of being removed from social media.

Stefanovic opened the interview by saying: “I’m surprised you’re not dead yet”.

The pair are seen walking side by side, Robinson wearing a “unite the kingdom” T-shirt, the name given to large-scale anti-immigration rallies in London.

Prompted to finish Robinson’s sentence, Stefanovic describes Keir Starmer, the outgoing UK Labour prime minister, as a “wanker”.

Stefanovic has been contacted for comment.

-with AAP