Jackie O Henderson has given a full and frank interview around the failure of The Kyle and Jackie O Show in Melbourne and revealed new measures have been put in place to ensure the show finds success after a disappointing start.
These measures include reducing the “smut” content, building on her natural chemistry with co-host Kyle Sandilands, and spending more time in the city to win over the audience.
Henderson also revealed Sandilands – who just announced he has two aneurysms and needs surgery – is looking to buy a house there so he can commit to the show’s growth in the Victorian city.
The 50-year-old radio star was interviewed on stage by her best friend and former radio producer, Gemma O’Neill, at CRA’s Heard 2025 audio showcase in Sydney.
Kyle and Jackie O
The breakfast duo launched their show to much fanfare into the competitive Melbourne market in April 2024, but listeners were overwhelmed by the sexual content and it is currently ranked fifth with a market share of just 5 per cent. In Sydney, the pair have a winning 13.5 per cent share.
To a packed crowd at the CRA event, Henderson faced criticism that the show was too smutty and divisive for that audience.
“We launched into Melbourne, obviously, and it didn’t go gangbusters straight away,” she told O’Neill on stage. “And I think people are nervous to ask me about that, because maybe they associate that with a loss of pride or something. But Melbourne not being a success instantly is weirdly a good thing for us,” she added.
It made us go, ‘Have we lost our way?’
“I mean, we’ve been doing breakfast for more than 20 years and there have been times where the show has inevitably gone off track a little bit, because each day… you might push boundaries or test the limits, and before you know it… you’ve gone over here too much.
“And so when we launched into Melbourne, and it not being a success straight away, humbled us. It made us go, ‘Have we lost our way?’
As a result Henderson said she and Sandilands had to sit back and look at the show and work out what was going wrong.
“It really made us reassess where we’re at, what we’re doing with the show, and you know, do a re-set. I think the show that we’re doing now is sounding better than it has in a long time.
“I really think we’ve got our groove back, and I can feel it when we do.”
“I know when we’re on track and doing the things that make Kyle and I do great radio and that smut has really been taken away, and it’s just good for chemistry.”
Gemma O’Neill interviewed Jackie O Henderson at the CRA Heard 2025 event.
Now, says Henderson, the pair need to find the Melbourne audience again and she hopes listeners will give the show another chance.
‘We have to rely on those people to re-tune in and give it a second chance’
“So, Melbourne will be slow because they obviously tuned in, it instantly got a lot of press… then they heard the really f***ed up s*** we shouldn’t have been talking about and I cringe when I think of it, but anyway, it is what it is. It’s done, and now we have to rely on those people to re-tune in and give it a second chance.”
Henderson said she believes a lot of that will come from the “talkability” of the show and it will develop as more people tune in.
“I think that word of mouth is probably the way it’s going to come around, but that will take time, and that’s OK, it’s totally fine.
The pair are so committed to the show working in Victoria, Henderson revealed that Sandilands is even buying a house there so he can spend more time in Melbourne so the show doesn’t feel like an add-on to a Sydney-based show.
“Kyle’s gotten all wrapped up in buying a house in Melbourne and spending more time there,” she said on stage. “We both want to because we really want Melbourne to like to feel like they’re just not some afterthought, and rightly so.
“I think in terms of the content we’re doing at the moment, the style of where it sits, I think we’re in a good place. And I think it is just now showing more love to Melbourne.”
Kyle and Jackie O are two of Australia’s best-known presenters.
Henderson also broached how her co-host’s ill health will affect the show and its potential success in Melbourne. Sandilands recently revealed he had been diagnosed with two aneurysms and would have to undergo surgery.
“Obviously Kyle’s health is number one,” Henderson said. “And we’re okay with that at the moment… there’s no operation coming up just yet. We’re just monitoring it.
“So, let’s see what happens – one day at a time with that. And I think for 2025 obviously, we really want to get stuck in to Melbourne. And for us, we really want to lean into that and really want to focus on building that.”