Back in September 2011 people were planking in dangerous places, shuffling to Party Rock Anthem, and getting ready for the Queen to visit Australia. They were also turning on their radios and listening to The Fitzy & Wippa show, newly launched on Nova. Over 2,000 shows later, the pair are celebrating 10 years on-air on Friday, September 17th.
Mediaweek spoke to Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli about what the last 10 years have looked like and what’s to come.
The show has taken Fitzy & Wippa all over the planet and seen them get into all sorts of situations. There are some moments that stand out as highlights though.
Wippa: “There’s been a couple of great trips. We’ve been to both royal weddings – not officially invited, but just dropped in the right area at the right time. We covered that because we broadcast on Channel 10 live from the front lawn of Buckingham Palace, that was for Will and Kate. That was a highlight, we both sat there in morning suits and we didn’t really know what we were talking about. But the good thing was just in front of us, Sandra Sully was there just handing us bits of paper with information like the fact that it’s an Alexander McQueen dress.”
Fitzy: “And giving us AFL score updates at the same time! What a legend Sandra Sully is.
“That first royal wedding was a huge one because we were overseas for six weeks. We also snuck in a trip for the new Hangover film, it was the Hangover Part III. We took a group of listeners to Bangkok to stay in the hotel that was actually featured in the movie.”
Wippa: “Never do that.”
Fitzy: “The Lebua It was called. It was the Hangover trip and our listeners, that’s why we love them, they lived up to the movie and ended up getting tattoos of the Lebua hotel. I think a couple of them missed their flights.”
Wippa: “We took off with 20 and came home with 19. We don’t normally report that!”
Broadcasting through Covid
More recently, the show – and the rest of the world – has been a bit more grounded. During the 2020 lockdown, the Fitzy & Wippa team had just 72 hours notice that they would be working from home.
Wippa: “Everybody was going through the same thing, so it was very realistic for us to be at home. We had five people in different locations. Tommy [Ivey], our executive producer, he’s in a two bedder, he’s got young kids, obviously he can’t do the show from home. So Tommy had to drive his Toyota Yaris and park it somewhere near the bridge where he had good reception. He did the show from his car, just sitting in the driver’s seat there.”
Fitzy: “Matt DeGroot had the same garbage truck drive past his house every morning while we were on air. My kids actually woke up around the same time and you could hear them screaming in the background. At first we’re like, ‘this is gonna sound horrible’. And our bosses then said to us, ‘well, it doesn’t, it sounds great because this is what everybody’s going through. You’re relatable, so keep it up’. They actually urged us to actually get the kids to scream even more!”
Joining the show each morning is Sarah McGilvray, Matt de Groot, and Tom Ivey.
Fitzy: “Wippa and I have lived out of each other’s pockets for 10 years, but to have our team around us as well makes a huge difference. They’re very creative in their own sense and bring so many great ideas to the show. They’ve been brilliant.”
Keeping It Fresh
After 10 years on air together, having a similar sense of humour has meant the pair never stop making each other laugh.
Wippa: “I think making each other laugh is the key to the whole thing – especially in the last couple of years, it’s an important circuit breaker for what everybody’s going through.
“If one of us can surprise the other one with something, it then drives the other one to jump in and take it to the most ridiculous place we can. That’s always something that gives you energy as the show goes on, knowing you’re live in that moment and the topic you’re talking about is completely ridiculous. I think that is a powerful moment for the show.”
Fitzy: “10 years, you feel like you are regurgitating stuff sometimes. It’s funny, though, we are so invested in the show – we’re producing it three hours a day – but the listening habits of people, they only probably listened to you for 15 to 20 minutes a day.”
Wippa: “Are you suggesting you can make the same jokes three or four times in a show?” [laughs]
Fitzy: “It’s a roller coaster, this job. Sometimes you think, ‘God, we’re doing the same stuff over and over’. Then other times you go, ‘we’ve been doing this for a long time and this is a great, fresh idea that no one else is doing’. You become addicted to that search of always finding the next big idea and thinking outside the square.”
Looking Ahead
With a decade behind them, the best is still yet to come for Fitzy & Wippa.
Wippa: “You know when you got down to the Swans for the first time, you pulled on the boots and you ran out there and you thought ‘first game, what am I going to do?’ and then kicked five on debut? That’s how I feel, I’ve kicked five on debut and I’m ready for the next game.”
Fitzy: “What, it’s taken you 10 years to kick five? [laughs]
“We’re in a really good spot at the moment. We’re still enjoying it. You know, we’ve been poking Nova here to see if we can get back into the drive slot.”
Wippa: “Hasn’t crossed my mind!”
Fitzy: “Kate, Tim, and Joel are number one at the moment, and it’s really, really hard to try to say that that show needs to be moved!”
Wippa: “Stranger things have happened but it doesn’t even cross my mind doing that Drive show.”