The upheaval and underhandedness at Nova 96.9 was exposed yesterday when industry gossip about the Sydney radio station was openly discussed on KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O Show.
The drama caused by the extended absence of Nova’s National Drive host Kate Ritchie – who has been on a “hiatus” since October – has now led to the departure of Sarah McGilvray, one of Nova’s most popular and engaged on-air talents , guided.
McGilvray, who has been off the air for three weeks, was apparently “squashed” from the Fitzy & Wippa breakfast show after years of working as a sidekick to co-hosts Ryan “Fitzy” Fitzgerald and Michael “Wippa” Wipfli for space to do for Ritchie, who will be drafted as the new third anchor. Fitzgerald and Wipfli are both said to be unhappy with the move as they remain loyal to McGilvray.
While it’s unclear why Ritchie is leaving the Kate, Tim and Joel Drive show, which she co-hosted with Tim Blackwood and Joel Creasy, her move to Breakfast was apparently orchestrated by Nova management as her contract has one year left and they needed something for her to do.
Speaking about the changes at Nova on Thursday, Kyle Sandilands expressed his sadness that McGilvray – a former producer of Kyle and Jackie O – had been ousted from Nova in the reshuffle.
The upheaval and underhandedness at Nova 96.9 was exposed yesterday, with industry gossip about the Sydney radio station openly discussed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show. (Pictured: an undated photo of the Fitzy & Wippa team, including presenter Sarah McGilvray, center, and co-host Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald, left, at Nova 96.9 studios in Sydney)
The drama caused by the extended absence of Nova’s National Drive presenter Kate Ritchie (pictured) – who has been on a “hiatus” since October – has now seen the exit of Sarah McGilvray, one of the most popular and engaged on-air -Talents by Nova, guided
McGilvray (second from right) was apparently “squashed” from the Fitzy & Wippa breakfast show (the team is seen here) after years of being the pal of co-hosts Ryan “Fitzy” Fitzgerald (second from left) and Michael “Wippa ‘ was ‘ Wipfli (middle) to make room for Ritchie. Fitzgerald and Wipfli are both said to be unhappy with the move as they remain loyal to McGilvray
His co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson also confirmed the long-running rumor that Ritchie will be replaced on the drive by her regular stand-in Ricki-Lee Coulter.
“Everybody’s turned upside down over at Nova. It’s all going on over there,” Sandilands said at the start of the discussion.
Henderson agreed that “a few changes” were afoot, and producer Peter Deppeler said he’d heard Nova had “huge back-end issues.”
Sandilands added: “I think they’re putting in that chick from Home and Away [Ritchie] I heard it on the breakfast show.”
Henderson confirmed it wasn’t just a rumor, saying, “Yes, they are.”
When Sandilands asked what was up with Ritchie’s afternoon show, Deppeler said Coulter would be taking on a full-time position.
While it’s unclear why Ritchie (center) is leaving the Drive show, which she co-hosted with Tim Blackwood (L) and Joel Creasy (R), her breakfast move was apparently orchestrated by Nova bosses because they still have a year to go has her contract and they needed something for her to do
Henderson added: “You [Coulter] will take over. I think I assume so.’
“And they’re taking Kate Ritchie to Fitzy and Wippa,” said Sandilands, who then asked, “What happened to Sarah who used to work here?
‘She used to work for us [as a producer] and then she wanted to be Jackie [an on-air personality] and had to go to Nova… What happened to her?’
Henderson said she wasn’t sure what happened to McGilvray, who disappeared from the airwaves three weeks ago, and asked KIIS FM’s producers if they had any information.
Deppeler said she “apparently moved on”. Henderson laughed and said, “We know that!” but they wanted more details about her departure.
Guest booker Jaimee ‘Mayo’ Blazquez cut him off from the phone room to share the ‘industry rumor’ about McGilvray leaving Nova.
“There’s a rumor going around in the industry that she didn’t get what she wanted [from management]like she was in there, committed for—I don’t know—how many years, but then she’d been replaced [by Ritchie] and she obviously wasn’t happy,” Blazquez began.
“They might have offered her all that shit, and she wasn’t happy with those offers and she said, ‘You screwed me. Until then!
“Oh, so she’s gone forever,” Henderson replied.
Speaking about the changes at Nova on Thursday, KIIS FM presenter Kyle Sandilands (pictured) expressed his sadness that McGilvray – a former producer of Kyle and Jackie O – had been ousted in the Nova reshuffle
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson (pictured) eventually ended the conversation about Nova because it was getting “too gossipy” and “nasty.”
Arguably the most connected and well-informed man on the radio, Sandilands said he had “heard different things” about the Ritchie-McGilvray job swap.
“I heard that, right? We probably shouldn’t even be talking about it on air, but we will because everyone cares about this stuff. I heard Kate didn’t…” he said.
The live broadcast was then censored with a two-second beep, which was probably done by a producer for legal reasons.
Sandilands then continued, “… show, and Nova had a contract with her and didn’t know what to do with her, so she screwed Sarah, who’s doing a great job, to put Kate with Fitzy and Wippa – and they weren’t a fan of that either.”
Henderson cut him off to say, “This is getting too garrulous” and “nasty.”
Chron Australia has reached out to Nova Entertainment for comment.
The Australian was the first to report last week that Ritchie was planning to switch from Nova’s national drive show to the Sydney channel’s breakfast programme.
Ritchie announced last year that she was taking a break from Kate, Tim & Joel to focus on her health, but sources on the network said she would not be returning.
The 44-year-old, who was being treated at a rehab center while away from the mic, was reportedly aiming to join Fitzy and Wippa – a move that could give the show a much-needed ratings boost.
Ritchie (pictured) announced last year that she was taking a break from Kate, Tim & Joel to focus on her health, but sources on the network said she would not be returning
Ritchie has remained silent on her return date, although she teased in January that she would be back on the air with her co-hosts Creasey and Blackwell in a matter of weeks.
The former soap actress, who has hosted Nova’s national drive show since 2014, announced in October that she was stepping down from her position.
It was later revealed she was seeking treatment for alcohol addiction after Chron Australia received photos of her outside a convalescent hospital.
She then said in a statement the challenges of the past year have led to an “unhealthy addiction to alcohol”.
Meanwhile, the mother of her love life has made headlines after she was recently spotted kissing new boyfriend Chevy Black on Clovelly Beach in Sydney.