Bianca Dye is no stranger to the airwaves, having worked on radio shows in markets including Sydney, Wollongong, and Brisbane.
Her previous gig was co-hosting ARN’s 97.3FM breakfast in Brisbane with Mike van Acker and Bob Gallagher, which ended in 2019. Dye had replaced Robin Bailey, but things came full circle when ARN brought Bailey back into the spot Dye had taken.
She found herself on the Gold Coast, and next month will mark a year on air with the Hit 90.9FM breakfast team of Bianca, Dan & Ben.
Mediaweek spoke to Dye about making the move, getting to know your co-hosts, and why she has her dream job.
Ben Hannant, Bianca Dye, and Dan Anstey
Making the Move
Dye says that while she’s worked in a number of places around Australia, the move to Gold Coast radio was one that she’s wanted to make since she was a teenager.
“It’s just a fantastic vibe here. Don’t get me wrong, Brisbane is charming, but I grew up partly on the Gold Coast so I’ve got history here, I’ve got family here, I’ve got best friends here. There’s something about living on the Gold Coast, I feel like I’m permanently on a holiday.
“I remember when I was 14 I used to listen to the Sea FM Breakfast show with Dean and Suki. They were so much fun, and I’d listen to them on my way to school and I remember thinking “I want to be like Suki”. It’s funny, because she was loud, cheeky, husky, no-filter, spoke her mind and I don’t know if I manifested that or not but when people describe me that’s kind of how they describe me too.
“The Gold Coast has been on my vision board since I was 14, so when the opportunity came, I was like ‘yes!’.”
While the move to the Gold Coast was straightforward enough, Dye says that where she was going to end up was less clear.
“Originally it was the drive show on Triple M, and then I got a call from Dave Cameron and he was like ‘actually, we’re doing a bit of a pivot, it’s not drive on Triple M, it’s breakfast on Hit’. I went oh! Ok! Righto, no worries!”
Settling In
Having been parachuted into a number of shows during her career, Dye knows a thing or two about establishing relationships with new co-hosts. She says that she was getting to know her current on-air partners, Dan Anstey and Ben Hannant, while going through a difficult time outside of work.
“Everyone’s on their best behavior in the honeymoon period, when you first start working with people that you’ve never worked with before. It’s happened to me so many times now in my career. You all get in there and you behave yourselves, and you need to get past that point I think. You need to push past that point to where everyone takes the mask off and you see who they really are, and you push past that too. Then you know you are actually in a relationship with an authentic person.
“I went through a really hard relationship breakup, and I had to keep it a secret for a couple of months. It was really hard, I had to come to work every day and basically I felt like I was living a lie, and I couldn’t tell the boys what was going on – but they kind of knew.
“When I finally came to work after making the decision that I had to tell them because it was final and I’d moved out, I felt like it was the biggest weight off my shoulders. I feel like our show leaped forward leaps and bounds because I could be honest. It was a relief to be able to go ‘hey guys, it’s all been fucked, it’s over. I’m single and it’s all good!’”
After moving past the initial getting-to-know-you phase, Dye says that the show has really taken off.
“I feel like we have been making really great radio. We’re having a lot of fun, we genuinely make each other laugh – like genuinely crack each other up. It’s not easy to find that. I’ve been a part of plenty of shows where you don’t laugh every day, it’s not easy to find that kind of chemistry.”
Broadcasting Through Covid
Dye says that while broadcasting during Covid was difficult, it forced the show to go back to its roots.
“We were pulling things out of rear ends that didn’t exist. It really did push everyone to their limit, everyone was doing it tough. Lots of people got let go, and we were all just grateful to have a bloody job to be honest.
“During Covid we had to really get creative. Our bosses and our promotion department were amazing. We had to do radio, but the diet version – we still had to give people what they wanted to hear cause we’re competing with podcasts and everything else, but we just had to deal with no budget. So it squeezed the best out of people in some ways because we were forced to get back to the basics of why people listen to us in the first place.”
Working on the Gold Coast
Between the atmosphere and the location, Dye says that the Gold Coast is the dream place to go to work every morning.
“You know what’s funny? I won’t say who, but a couple of people who do the breakfast shows up in Brisbane were like ‘oh mate, is the money ok on the Goldie? I want to come to the Goldie’.”
“It’s the ultimate gig really. As a place to live, I look out over the ocean every day from work, it’s pretty cool. Also I just think there’s a vibe, it’s the Gold Coast. As a radio station I think it’s attracted people that are a bit more chill, and it’s a really beautiful bunch of people that are all working their butts off. I love it here, I’m happy to stay for the rest of my life.
“Everyone is like ‘Oh you’re on the Goldie, you have the dream gig’, and I’m like ‘actually, I think I do’.”