Lauren Phillips has spoken out about losing her job at KIIS FM to Kyle and Jackie O after they secured a $200 million expansion deal to broadcast in Melbourne.
The Nova 100 presenter detailed the brutal aftermath of the radio star feud alongside fellow presenter Jase Hawkins, admitting she was “devastated” and considered fleeing the country after believing her career was over.
“I felt devastated. I thought it was the end of my radio career,” she said. news.com.au.
“At the end of last year, I was ready to leave the country and move abroad. I thought, ‘I’m out of here.'”
When Nova approached the radio duo about a chance at a breakfast show, Phillips revealed she was initially hesitant to join, explaining she was worried about being fired again.
“I had a pretty bad taste in my mouth and I was scared that it would happen again,” she said.
This comes after Jase and Lauren beat their Sydney rivals, Kyle Sandilands. and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson in recent radio ratings.
Lauren Phillips and Jason “Jase” Hawkins have taken a big win in the FM breakfast show charts, becoming the second most listened to show in Melbourne.
Lauren Phillips (pictured) has spoken out about losing her job at KIIS FM to Kyle and Jackie O after they secured a $200 million expansion deal to broadcast in Melbourne, admitting she was “broken” and considered fleeing the country after believing her career was over.
In the latest survey they increased their share from 8.7 percent to 9.6 percent, displacing FOX FM’s Fifi, Fev and Nick, who fell from a share of 10 percent to 9.5 percent, into third place.
Kyle and Jackie O’s show came in sixth place with a 5.9 per cent share, behind smoothfm and Triple M’s Marty Sheargold Show.
GOLD FM’s Christian O’Connell still has the highest-rated FM breakfast show in Melbourne with a 10.8 per cent share.
Earlier this month, Sandilands broke his silence after his show failed to reach expected ratings.
The 53-year-old has given his thoughts on the results and progress of his show, explaining that despite the results, the Kyle & Jackie O Show is slowly gaining momentum in the Victorian capital.
Lauren Phillips and Jason ‘Jase’ Hawkins had a big win in breakfast time, becoming the second most listened to show in Melbourne. Both pictured
“We gained another 50,000 people, but apparently that wasn’t enough,” he said live.
He added: “It’s a slow process, you know, not everyone wants to hear about dildos and ass licking.”
On April 29, Kyle and Jackie O brought their morning radio show to Melbourne in a massive multi-million dollar expansion deal.
The move led to the cancellation of Jason “Jase” Hawkins and Lauren Phillips’ breakfast show.
On April 29, Kyle and Jackie O brought their morning radio show to Melbourne in a massive multi-million dollar expansion deal.
Unapologetic Kyle said he didn’t care if his competitors were fired, as it ultimately came down to who could attract more listeners.
“No, I don’t mind. That’s why we chose Melbourne. We thought, ‘We’ve given Jase and Lauren a good opportunity on KIIS FM, they can’t get any higher than fourth in the radio ratings, so we’ll take it,'” he said. news.com.au.
He added that The Kyle and Jackie O Show moved to Melbourne because it was a “struggling market” and his show could help win back listeners.
However, Kyle’s co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson took a different approach, adding that while she didn’t like seeing competitors get fired, it was the unfortunate reality of the business.
“Nobody wants to get fired from their job. I wouldn’t want that to happen to me. It’s a double-edged sword, it really is,” he said.