Another temporary replacement has been added to the radio’s biggest drama.
Mike Etheridge has replaced Kent Small – Smallzy – as the temporary host of KIIS Breakfast this morning, filling in for Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson while they remain off air.
Smallzy had been holding the breakfast slot for the past two weeks before today’s handover.
‘So the reason I’m here?’
Speaking on air, Mike E said: “It’s weird to get the call up to help fill in.”
Newsreader Brooklyn Ross then explained how his name came up in the conversation.
“Last week, when they needed someone to fill in again, they were walking around, saying ‘Who would come in and work with one day’s notice (and) no idea of how long they’re going to actually get the job for?’ I said ‘Mike E.’”
Mike E responded: “So the reason I’m here? I wasn’t doing anything else.”
Mike E recently launched Behind The Mic with Mike E, a podcast exploring the pivots, ego, burnout and ambition that come with a life in audio.
Ben Fordham and Michael Etheridge. Source: Supplied
Ben Fordham speaks to Mike E about Kyle and Jackie O
2GB Breakfast host Ben Fordham recently weighed into the escalating fallout between Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, declaring the shock jock made a critical error by airing his frustrations with his longtime co-host live on radio.
Speaking on the Behind the Mic with Mike E podcast, Fordham told host Mike E the moment that triggered the crisis inside ARN’s biggest radio show should never have played out in public.
“It shouldn’t have happened on air. It should not have happened on air. If Kyle had said to Jackie off air, ‘Babe, your interest in astrology is driving me nuts’, I reckon Jackie probably would have said ‘oh right’.”
The comments follow a dramatic on-air clash last month during which Henderson was left in tears after Sandilands accused her of letting her interest in astrology interfere with her work.
During the broadcast, Sandilands had lashed out: “It’s affecting other things, like your fixation on this has made you almost unworkable. You’re off with the fairies with this s***. It’s mental.”
Top Image: Mike Etheridge