Another KIIS FM shake-up as radio host vanishes from Kyle & Jackie O fill‑in gig

KIIS FM listeners in Sydney were left scratching their heads on Monday morning when they found out Ken 'Smallzy' Small had been replaced by Michael Etheridge.

Smallzy was filling in for axed radio stars Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson, after their show was suspended earlier this month following a shock on-air argument.

During Monday's breakfast show, Etheridge shared his surprise to listeners about how he had scored the role.

'It's weird to get the call up to help fill in. So the reason I'm here? I wasn’t doing anything else,' he quipped.

Meanwhile, long-running Kyle and Jackie O staffer Brooklyn Ross revealed he had suggested Etheridge as a suitable fill-in. 

'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!' Brooklyn told listeners. 

It comes after an Australian media insider revealed the likely fate of axed radio star Kyle Sandilands, as the deadline on his two-week suspension from The Kyle and Jackie O Show approaches. 

Veteran entertainment reporter Peter Ford appeared on Channel Seven's Sunrise on Monday morning, and revealed that Sandilands, 54, would likely be terminated from his ARN contract on Tuesday. 

'No one seems to know exactly how he is meant to remedy the breach. He is also going to argue that he was not allowed to remedy it because he had been told not to speak to Jackie, and vice versa,' Ford began.

'So, 5pm tomorrow at close of business, that's pretty much game over. That's when we go into battle mode. Today is the last chance to reach some sort of peace settlement.' 

He added that his ARN contacts had informed him that Sandilands was not going to be reinstated.

'My contacts within ARN were telling me they are not going to blink. He is not going to be reinstated, he is being fired, basically,' he said. 

Ford then said that Sandilands was likely aware of this outcome and was taking steps to get ahead of the situation once an official announcement was made.

Ford finished by saying that co-star Jackie 'O' Henderson made an error in judgement by releasing a statement saying she 'can no longer work with Mr. Kyle Sandilands', adding she should have been clearer in her meaning.

'What it should have said is she can't "currently" work with Kyle, which would have led to discussion about fixing it. Instead, it was taken as a resignation to say "please let me out of this contract",' he said.

Sandilands, whose tenure at The Kyle and Jackie O Show on KIIS FM hangs in the balance, took an intriguing meeting on Saturday.

The 54-year-old met with Stu Laundy, whose billionaire father Arthur Laundy recently bought Nine Entertainment's radio assets, including 2GB in Sydney, 3AW in Melbourne, 4BC in Brisbane and 6PR in Perth.

Adding further intrigue to the catch–up, which was held at Sandilands' McMahons Point offices, the radio king was accompanied by his manager, Bruno Bouchet.

The meeting has led to whispers that Sandilands is eyeing a future on radio outside of the ARN family. 

ARN announced last month that Jackie 'O' Henderson's $100million contract had been terminated after she told executives she 'cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands' following his harsh on–air comments that left her in tears. 

Meanwhile, ARN provided written notice to her co–host Sandilands stating it considers his behaviour during the show on February 20 to be 'an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN's service agreement with Quasar Media'.

Sandilands has been suspended and given 14 days to 'remedy' the breach, or else he faces termination.