Radio star Kip Wightman’s shocking on-air breakdown

KIIS97.3 presenter Kip Wightman has broken down in tears live on air, revealing the devastating reason he fears for his five-year-old son’s future.

KIIS97.3 radio host Kip Wightman has broken down in a gut-wrenching on-air moment, choking back sobs as he revealed his deepest fear, that his five-year-old son could inherit his explosive temper.

Listeners were stunned when the Brisbane breakfast presenter suddenly became overwhelmed on Thursday morning while reviewing Netflix’s harrowing new drama Adolescence on Wednesday morning, letting raw emotion take over.

“I’m so afraid,” Wightman said through tears, while talking about his son, Raphael.

“Because I … God, I definitely got my temper from my dad, and I’m so afraid of giving it to Raf. I’m so afraid that he’s gonna see me rage out and then think it’s normal and do it.”

Kip Wightman breaks down on air. Photo: Instagram.

Wightman’s emotional spiral began after he and co-host Robin Bailey aired a heart-wrenching scene from Adolescence, the hit UK series that opens with a 13-year-old boy arrested for murder — and follows his parents as they spiral into grief, guilt, and regret.

In one moment, the boy’s mother, played by Christine Tremarco, breaks down and blurts, “We made him, didn’t we?”

The line appeared to strike a deeply personal chord with Wightman, prompting an unfiltered emotional response.

“I was crying a lot after watching the episode,” he confessed.

“Nyomie hugged me and said, ‘You’re not your dad’.”

The veteran radio host said the show stirred up traumatic memories of his own childhood, growing up with a father who would erupt in anger and lash out.

“We grew up in the smack generation,” Wightman said.

“He definitely smacked us, and he smacked us in anger sometimes.”

Christine Tremarco and Stephen Graham in the final episode of Netflix's Adolescence. Photo: Netflix.

He recalled a pivotal moment in his teenage years when he finally stood up to his father.

“I poisoned a couple of his plants. It was an honest accident, and he was laying into me,” he said.

“I was bigger than him by then … and I grabbed him by his shirt, and I lifted him up, and I said, ‘that’s it, mate, you don’t hit me any more’.”

While Wightman insisted he’s never laid a hand on his son, he admitted he’s caught himself repeating patterns of rage.

“I do get mad the same way … I’ve thrown something against a wall, like I saw my dad do,” he admitted.

“I do it, even though I promised, even though I hated it. I hated him raging out, and I hated him being angry. And then I do it and I and I don’t know how to stop it.”

Kip Wightman and son Rafael on his 5th birthday. Photo: Instagram.

Wightman said one of the most confronting parts of fatherhood has been recognising elements of himself in his young son.

“I just see so much of myself in him, like so much of myself in him,” he said.

“And that … I guess that’s my fear and that worry.”

Robin Bailey, who has worked alongside Wightman for years, urged him to be honest with his son.

“With kids, we assume that they don’t see everything, and they do,” she said.

“If you sit down with Raffy and say, and be really honest ‘I have a temper. I’m not proud of it. I don’t want you to copy this. I’m trying to control it. I want to teach you to control it’ … you’ve brought him into your trust, it might help.”

The moment has sparked a wave of support from listeners and fans, many praising Wightman’s vulnerability in speaking out about the hidden burden of generational trauma.

Adolescence, now the number one show on Netflix, has struck a nerve worldwide with its raw portrayal of violence, masculinity, and the devastating consequences of silence.

Filmed in one continuous take, the gripping four-part series follows the Miller family’s nightmare after their teen son is charged with murder.