Radio execs left 'fretting' that Kyle Sandilands will use live Australian Idol shows to hit back at Kyle and Jackie O Show drama as two-week suspension deadline passes

There may very well be some drama on Tuesday night's Australian Idol, but its likely focus won't be singing, but rather on judge Kyle Sandilands.

The Channel Seven reality series enters the finals on Sunday, which are aired live, and Tuesday's episode will be broadcast just hours after the deadline for Sandilands' two-week suspension passes.

Australian Radio Network (ARN) provided written notice to Sandilands stating it considers his behaviour during The Kyle & Jackie O Show on February 20 to be 'an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN's service agreement with Quasar Media.'

He was suspended and given 14 days to 'remedy' the breach, or else he faces termination.

Prior to the finals, Australian Idol was pre-recorded, with Sandilands absent for five episodes, replaced by fill-in judge Jessica Mauboy.

However, the shock jock will be front and centre for the live finals alongside fellow judges Marcia Hines and Amy Shark. 

With the situation unlikely to be resolved by the 5:30pm Tuesday deadline, there are reportedly concerns about how Sandilands might use the prime-time platform.   

According to News Corp, insiders have claimed that ARN executives have 'begun to fret' about what the notoriously boundary-pushing shock jock might say about the ongoing saga during Tuesday night's live Idol broadcast.

Never one to shy away from pushing the envelope on-air, one radio insider said of Sandilands this week: 'It’s his job to push the limits as far as he can go and the censors to determine what is okay.' 

'If it comes out of the speakers then the censors have signed off on it and it has management approval,' they added to the publication. 

To add to the intrigue, the series is broadcast on Channel Seven, which recently merged with ARN’s long-time rival Southern Cross Austereo (SCA).

Sandilands also made some pointed references to the saga during Monday's episode, when contestant Charlie Moon performed With a Little Help from My Friends.

'Great performance, great song choice, beautiful delivery and a great message, we all need to get by with a little help from our friends,' Sandilands said.

In heartbreaking scenes, Sandilands then appeared to refer to Henderson directly.

'This week has been tough for me. I had a falling out with a very close friend,' he admitted.

Daily Mail has reached out to ARN for comment.  

It comes after Sandilands went against the wishes of ARN bosses this week, breaking his silence with a lengthy statement about the drama.

Addressing listeners on Tuesday, the shock jock claimed that he had been 'muzzled' amid the fallout, with ARN imposing strict conditions during his 14-day suspension period.

'ARN told me that I am not allowed to contact Jackie. They have told me that I am not allowed to speak to my colleagues,' he said.

'I did what was asked even though it made it impossible for me to do the one thing anyone in my position would want to do – pick up the phone and talk to the person I have been talking with continually for my entire career.'

Sandilands continued: 'The truth is that ARN terminated Jackie's contract on the same day it accused me of a breach. It suspended me from work. 

'All of this happened while I was being told to sit quietly and say nothing. That is not a genuine process.'

Sandilands went on to claim that he was not in breach of contract, asking ARN bosses to reinstate him. 

'I have a contract with ARN that runs until 2034. I am committed to that contract. Despite what ARN says, I am not in breach of that contract,' he said.

'I want to be on air. I want to be with my audience. I want to do the job I have done my entire adult life.

'I am asking ARN to do the right thing: honour our agreement and let me get back to doing what I do best – entertaining the people who have supported this show for more than two decades.'

While acknowledging that Henderson had told him she was hurt, Sandilands insisted they had always resolved disagreements privately.

'I am not going to pretend that everything about this situation is simple. Jackie told me she was hurt, and I accept that,' he said.

'But we have had disagreements before and we have always worked through them. That is what partners do.

'We never needed lawyers or ASX announcements to sort things out. I believe we could have sorted this out too, if ARN had given us the chance.'