The Kyle and Jackie O Show is officially over.
ARN Media confirmed Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s exit from the show on Tuesday afternoon, as she “cannot continue to work with” her co-host Kyle Sandilands.
Sandilands has also been suspended and warned his contract would be terminated if he does not respond to an allegation of serious misconduct within 14 days.
The industry is in shock over the news of the cancellation of the long-running show, with fellow personalities and KIIS FM staffers weighing in on the situation.
Beau Ryan
Beau Ryan weighed in on what happened on the Beau, Cat & Woodsy Triple M Sydney Breakfast show.
“I never like it when people lose their jobs,” he said.
“I owe a lot to Jackie O – she gave me a start in Breakfast radio – and I worked very closely with Kyle. I’m very good friends with both of them.”
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“My thoughts go to the team… there are a couple of dozen people who walk into work not knowing what happens next.”
He added how the way the events unfolded so rapidly did surprise him, adding: “I don’t get the play of what’s happened. I don’t understand it … and I don’t think we’ll ever know.”
“It feels like there’s more to the story. They’ve been friends for 20 plus years. They’ve been on the air; they are the benchmark. Love them or hate them, they are a successful radio show, and very, very close friends. They have been forever. They’ve obviously had a falling out and the show is gone.”
KIIS FM newsreader Brooklyn Ross
On Wednesday morning, newsreader Brooklyn Ross – who has worked on the show for over a decade – told temporary replacement Kent ‘Smallzy’ Small his feelings on what had happened in his first live interview since the announcement on Tuesday.
“We’ve all been listening the past two weeks and how it’s led to this,” he told the host in a live radio chat.
“I don’t think anyone can believe what’s happened. I don’t know anything about what’s happening from here, but I’m obviously still here, which I’m glad about that,” Ross added.
The newsreader said the whole thing has been a bit of a “spin out”, especially watching Smallzy in the studio while he read the news.
ARN staffers anonymously respond
Ross is one of the only staffers to have publicly spoken out about the exit, but KIIS’ parent company ARN spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald about what the end of Kyle and Jackie O means for the network.
Speaking anonymously, some reportedly said they were “overjoyed” and “relieved” by the news.
One ARN staffer the masthead: “We’ve been through hundreds of lay-offs since [Sandilands and Henderson] signed their contract at the end of 2023.
“The fact is, that outlay has never been justified by the ad revenue they were bringing in. Sure, Kyle and Jackie have always done well in Sydney but Melbourne has been a disaster.
“The initial idea was that we’d introduce the show to Melbourne and then Brisbane before rolling it out nationally – but their performance in Melbourne was so bad that it effectively put the brakes on that plan, which forced the company to make all these severe job cuts.”
“I think it’s fair to say this is a blessing in disguise – or maybe just a blessing, full stop,” said one ARN insider.
“The big risk is that KIIS will lose its No. 1 spot [on the FM ladder] in Sydney if Kyle quits or gets the boot, and that could create all kinds of problems. But you have to look at the bigger picture: we were locked into a $200 million contract that was effectively an albatross around the company’s neck.”
Another ARN employee, who is not based in the company’s Sydney headquarters, said the impact of the job cuts was being felt “in every ARN office around the country”.
“It’s noticeably emptier in here,” the employee said, requesting that their working location be withheld to reduce the risk of being identified by management.
“There are less sales staff, less experienced producers – some of them got the chop because they were highly paid, which meant we lost a lot of talent and institutional knowledge – and just less people overall. You come in every day and see these empty desks, and it’s so disheartening.”
‘Ugly’ Phil O’Neil
Jackie’s ex husband, Ugly Phil – whose real name is Phil O’Neil – broke his silence in a comment on social media.
The veteran radio presenter, who was married to Henderson from 1993 to 1999 and helped her get her start in the industry, reacted to the news in a post on Instagram.
He reposted comments on from post, with one fan writing, “Bring back ugly Phil” seemingly reacting to the news that Kyle and Jackie O are over.
“Yes it is true. I am the big radio story of the day. But I have nothing further to add. Thank you,” he captioned the post.
Chris Minns
NSW Premier Chris Minns, who attended Sandilands’s 2023 wedding to Tegan Kynaston, has also expressed his surprise about the radio duo’s break-up.
“I’m surprised about it,” he told ABC Radio Sydney.
“I’ve known Kyle for many, many years… it’s sad that these shows wind up.”
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