Neil Breen falls on sword to save day for Today Show Neil Breen has stood down from his position as executive producer of Today. Picture: News Limited Source: News Limited CHANNEL 9 has moved to end the acrimonious infighting dogging Today ahead of the media company's $2 billion stocklisting next week. Executive producer Neil Breen revealed yesterday he had fallen on his sword in a bid to kill off the adverse publicity around Nine's breakfast show, which was unsettling hosts Lisa Wilkinson and Karl Stefanovic. Breen said he told his bosses, including Nine chief David Gyngell, on Tuesday he would stand down to give the show "clear air" going into 2014. "The adverse publicity affects the show and it's got to end," Breen said. A show should never be about the producer - it should be about what's on air. He said the situation had become "ridiculous" when gossip columnists began ringing his wife: "The truth is I've actually loved working with the on-air talent and all the people at Today and I spent a lot of my days there laughing, which is kind of ironic." Breen found himself under pressure when reports emerged last month about disharmony on Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson on set for the Today Show. Picture: Channel 9 Source: News Limited Today, including an incident in which Wilkinson walked off the set in tears after a disagreement with Stefanovic. The flare-up came as Today's rival, Seven's Sunrise, rebounded in the ratings after replacing long-time host Melissa Doyle with Samantha Armytage. Divisions deepened at Today soon after when Breen let fly at Ben Fordham, who had said he was too sick to appear on the show but still hosted his afternoon radio program. Today Show hosts Richard Reid Richard Wilkins, Steve Jacobs, Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis Source: News Limited And Breen angered Nine news and current affairs director Darren Wick by personally hiring high-powered lawyer Mark O'Brien in a bid to stop The Sunday Telegraph publishing more stories. He said yesterday he was not pursuing any legal matters against the newspaper. Breen, a former Sunday Telegraph editor who moved to TV last December, will take up a position as a sports journalist and on-air personality in January. He said he was looking forward to working with sports broadcaster Ken Sutcliffe. Breen's day-to-day responsibilities at Today will be taken over by Nine executive Mark Calvert from today.