KIIS FM radio host Kyle Sandilands has denied claims he was absent on-air for some of last week to get over his show with Jackie “O” Henderson losing the FM breakfast crown in Sydney.
Sandilands didn’t turn up for hosting duties at KIIS on Wednesday or Thursday, leading to speculation that the shock jock’s absence had something to do with him being upset about his brekkie show failing to claim top spot in the Sydney FM stakes for the first time in four years.
That crown belonged to Jonesy & Amanda on sister station WSFM, with Kyle & Jackie O suffering a 1.7 per cent market share decline to 9.3 per cent, according to the latest radio ratings.
However, Sandilands addressed the speculation when he returned to the airwaves on Friday, blaming illness – not a ratings dummy spit – on his absence.
“We all know I was just sick,” he told listeners. “I was home in bed.”
Henderson noted that Sandilands didn’t appear upset about the ratings on Tuesday, but the show’s executive producer, Bruno Bouchet, was “so down about it”.
The show’s newsreader, Brooklyn Ross, said he heard Sandilands say “It’s no one’s fault” before exiting the studio on Tuesday.
Sandilands said he went and congratulated Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller on the ratings win, before reiterating that he wasn’t in hiding last week following the result.
“I didn’t like not being here,” he said.
“I couldn’t give a s**t about the ratings. I don’t even believe those ratings are true.
“In my mind, we are still number one and I couldn’t give a s**t what anybody says.”
