Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O have taken aim at the chaotic Nova reshuffling, openly discussing the radio industry gossip on their own program.
The drama has stemmed from Kate Ritchie’s extended absence from Nova coming to a close, which has resulted in the exit of one of Nova’s most popular and dedicated on-air talents, Sarah McGilvray.
McGilvray was reportedly “squeezed out” of her position on the Fitzy & Wippa breakfast show to make way for Ritchie upon her return, as she is being drafted as Sarah’s replacement.
Fitzy and Wippa, also known as Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli , are reportedly unhappy with the switch as they remain loyal to McGilvray.
Speaking about the changes at Nova on Thursday, Kyle Sandilands expressed sadness that McGilvray – a former producer for Kyle and Jackie O – had been pushed out in the reshuffle.
His co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson also confirmed the long-standing rumour that Ritchie is being replaced on her previous drive time slot by her regular fill-in Ricki-Lee Coulter.
“They’re all topsy-turvy over at Nova apparently. All s**t’s gone loose over there,” Sandilands said at the start of the discussion.
Sandilands added, “I think they’re putting that chick from Home and Away [Ritchie] on the breakfast show is what I’ve heard.”
Henderson confirmed it wasn’t just a rumour, saying, “Yeah, they are.”
The pair continued to speculate back and forth about the reasoning behind the swap, before being censored on air.
Kyle said, “We probably shouldn’t even be talking about this on air, but we will ’cause everyone cares about this stuff. I heard that Kate wasn’t…”
The live broadcast was then censored by a two-second beep, which was presumably done by a producer for legal reasons.
Sandilands continued, “…show, and Nova had her on a contract and didn’t know what to do with her, so a**e-holed Sarah, who’s doing a great job, to squeeze Kate in with Fitzy and Wippa – and they weren’t a fan of that either.”
Henderson interrupted to say “this is getting too gossipy” and “nasty”.
Ritchie announced last year she was taking a break from the Kate, Tim & Joel drive time program to focus on her health, but sources at the network said she wouldn’t be returning.
Ritchie has remained silent on her return date, despite teasing in January she would be back on air with her co-hosts Creasey and Blackwell in a matter of weeks.
Image credits: KIIS FM
This article first appeared on Over60.