When Will McMahon found out that their KIIS network Will and Woody national drive show was #1 during the most recent radio survey, Woody Whitelaw was deep in the African jungle on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.
For the radio duo, while getting to the number one position was thrilling, it wasn’t their motivation day-to-day.
“I think I got a bit emotional about it,” McMahon revealed to the Mediaweek and Chattr podcast, The Entertainment Hotline. “Because we hadn’t necessarily been consciously focusing on it. The truth is, you do want to be the best show you can be so obviously having the number one spots kind of the goal for any show.”
For Whitelaw, he experienced “elated emotion”.
“It’s a nice sign that you’re doing a pretty good job if you’ve been acknowledged as the number one show,” the 35-year-old said.
While it’s safe to say the pair are the driving (pun intended) force behind the show, both men are “proud” of their entire team.
“I’m really proud about the people that are in our team,” McMahon said. “Of how close we all are, and how honest we all are.”
KIIS Network
Unbeknownst to McMahon, just three days prior to the announcement, Whitelaw had spoken to his campmates, and more specifically Liz Ellis, about how he was hoping to nab the number one crown.
“I had a lot of conversations [in the campsite] around goals and everyone’s motivations came up,” Whitelaw said. “I always find that question quite difficult because I said I am currently in a situation where I’m already living the dream in that I get to do a radio show with Will five days a week.
“But, if I had to force a goal for myself over this year or in the next few years, it would probably be to get the number one drive show. So, it was a pretty extraordinary moment when I’d shared this with everyone in the campsite and then for us all to hear that.”
After Whitelaw shared his story, McMahon admitted that he had no idea this took place.
“I had no idea that you’d literally said this a couple of days before!” he told Woody during the interview.
Woody Whitelaw on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here. Ten
Will and Woody’s secret to success
For fans of their show, it’s very clear that both McMahon and Whitelaw are two very different individuals, something which they say is what makes their pairing work.
“Sometimes when you look at Will and I in isolation, we are quite different in certain aspects as to the way we are or the things we’re into,” Whitelaw said. “But I think that’s what creates the texture or chemistry between us. We’re not exactly the same.
“I think ‘texture’ is the right word for our conversations, that whatever we bring up, Will’s view on something will often be quite different to the way that I’ve viewed something. Sometimes I look at us and go, we really shouldn’t get along that well… but we do get along and I think that’s kind of the beautiful thing about it.”
McMahon added: “I think our values often align though. If you really push us and get underneath what’s on the surface, you’ll find out that we do a lot in terms of what we value in life and what we think is worthwhile. If that gift didn’t exist, then that’s where we might have trouble.”
Why Will and Woody share their personal stories
The Will and Woody show may have the tagline: “Driving you home” but the guys admit there are some other options that may just work given the wide range of content that they produce.
“You can ask us anything from farts to philosophy… or penis to politics,” McMahon joked; however, the conversation then took a more sombre turn.
Over the past few years, the men have seen success with moments from their show going viral. The more well-known moment was when they sat down in 2019 and had a frank and honest conversation about McMahon’s mental health.
While it resonated with thousands, sharing those stories in order to help others is not what necessarily drives them.
“I haven’t got like a God complex or I’m not coming into work going, oh, I can’t wait to help everyone,” he said. “Truth and the word ‘filter’ as a metaphor and as a physical tool for people to sort of how they create themselves online, I think leads to a lot of suffering and ultimately makes the internet and a lot of media a really sad place.
“For me, it makes me a much better performer if I can just lean into what’s actually going on,” he said. “I didn’t think about it as though I was sitting down to have this chat with the world. I thought about it as I want to sit down and have this chat with Woody.
“But the ripple effect, or the repercussions of that, are awesome and I’m really glad that happens.”
Will & Woody can be heard on KIIS 1065, KIIS 101.1, KIIS 97.3, Mix102.3 and 96FM, a number of regional stations across the country and via the free iHeartRadio app.