The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, will revive his appearances on Channel Seven's Sunrise, the program many believe helped him win office, only this time without his former sparring partner, the shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey.

And Channel Nine's Today has announced that the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, and the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, will go head-to-head in a weekly segment from February 5.

Mr Rudd's office confirmed he would take part in a weekly live segment on Sunrise, the program that made him and Mr Hockey household names.

The pair quit the show in early 2007, before Mr Rudd became Prime Minister, and after a controversy over a staged pre-dawn service on Anzac Day.

The executive director of Sunrise, Adam Boland, said the new segment would allow Mr Rudd to answer questions from members of the public on live television. Mr Rudd would not be warned about the nature of the questions.

Mr Boland said he did not extend the invitation to Mr Abbott because he wanted viewers ''to have a direct line of contact with the person making the decisions. The Opposition Leader is always welcome on Sunrise. I'm not in the business of helping either side of politics.''

Mr Rudd believed it was important to hear the concerns of Australians and remain ''engaged with the community through a range of forums, including community cabinet, web chats and media engagements such as talkback radio and now live talkback television'', a spokeswoman said.