How Kyle and Jackie O became a powerhouse duo in Sydney radio

Randomly paired to host a radio show more than 20 years ago, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson have been on the rise ever since. Here’s how they became the powerful on-air duo they are today.

• Radio ratings shock: 2GB knocked from top spot

They both started their careers early in the radio industry but Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson didn’t really “make it” until they were randomly paired up to become co-hosts in the year 2000.

Since then, the on-air powerhouse duo have gone from strength to strength — and largely helped KIIS 106.5FM knock 2GB off the top to become the number one radio station in Sydney.

On March 16, it was announced KIIS has claimed the title with a leading overall share of 11.9 per cent of the Sydney radio market, ahead of 2GB at 11 per cent — with Kyle and Jackie O picking up a 15.9 per cent share, up 1.1 percentage points.

We take a look at how the colleagues — and best friends — took over the airwaves to become one of the most powerful teams in Sydney radio.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O have taken KIIS FM to new levels. Picture: Supplied

Kyle and Jackie O team up

Sandilands made his radio debut in Queensland, starting work behind-the-scenes at 4TO, before progressing to becoming an on-air radio talent at Cairns, Gladstone, Darwin, Perth and Brisbane.

Even though being a radio personality wasn’t on her agenda, Jackie O took to the job in the early-90s.

In 1993 she was a ‘phone girl’ for Triple M in Adelaide when a staffer of radio host ‘Ugly Phil’ O’Neil quit unexpectedly, and Jackie O joined him on air.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson became on-air partners in 2000 in Sydney.

Kyle and Jackie O when they were on the Hot30 Countdown in 2001. Picture: Robert Rosen

She and O’Neil — who she later married — became a successful radio duo in Adelaide and Melbourne throughout the ’90s before she made the move to Sydney where her on-air partnership with Kyle Sandilands began in the year 2000.

It was the first time the pair had ever worked together but they took on the co-host roles for Austereo’s national Hot30 Countdown.

This marked the beginning and since that show, the pair stayed together despite some obstacles along the way.

Breakfast radio

In 2005, the duo moved to 2Day FM’s breakfast show slot in Sydney — where they became the most listened to FM breakfast radio program.

They enjoyed many successes — and ratings wins — but in 2014, they made the shock move to KIIS FM after contract negotiations broke down with 2Day FM.

They secured a multimillion-dollar deal which has since been touted as the biggest ever showbiz contract in Australian history.

Kyle and Jackie O have continued to smash ratings records.

In 2021, Sandilands again locked in a three-year, $5 million-a-year contract with KIIS FM.

And their ratings continue to back them up as the number one FM show in Sydney, with a 12.4 per cent share, up 1.1 percentage points, in June 2022 — which went up to a 15.9 per cent share by March 2023.

In October 2022, Jackie O and Sandilands were crowned the Best On-Air Team in the FM category for a record eighth time at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards.

They were also inducted into the Commercial Radio Hall of Fame for outstanding lifetime achievement.

Best friends

The pair have supported each other through some on-air and off-air controversies for the more than 20 years they have been working together.

Their friendship has seen them both through each of their divorces as well as having children — Jackie O has a daughter Kitty with her former husband Lee Henderson, while Kyle became a first-time dad at 51 to son Otto in 2022.

Kyle and Jackie O in the earlier days. Picture: Wikipedia

They were crowned Best On-Air Team (FM category). Picture: Supplied

In her speech after their ACRA win in 2022, Jackie O paid tribute to Sandilands.

“He is my ride or die. I know what you’re gonna say before you even say it,” she said.

“We laugh, we cry … but you’ve always supported me and I am just so grateful that you have been the one by my side throughout this. If you ride off a cliff, I’ll ride off it with you.”

On-air controversies

While still with 2Day FM in 2009, a radio stunt went horribly wrong when the duo quizzed a 14-year-old girl about her sexual history using a lie-detector test, where the girl admitted she was raped when she was 12 years old.

The radio duo was pulled off the air and then returned after an internal review. The Australian Communications and Media Authority also investigated.

While Sandilands is more known for his on-air outbursts and walkouts, the usually cool-headed Jackie O staged a walkout with her co-host in October 2022.

Both hosts refused to stay on-air after their interview with fellow broadcaster Alan Jones was “dumped” off-air by the show’s in-house censor.

Both Kyle and Jackie O left the show more than an hour early, railing against what they dubbed “miscommunication” behind the scenes that left them unsure why their interview had been censored in such a disruptive manner.