Inside the top secret deal to save the Jase and Lauren breakfast radio show

It was a top secret operation to get Jase and Lauren back on brekkie radio – they needed to keep a low profile, avoid family and friends and drive in separate cars to a shoot at their new studio late at night.

Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips in the Nova Studio. Picture: Supplied

It was a covert operation that needed full commitment. Think separate cars late at night, avoiding eye contact, keeping a low profile.

Lauren Phillips and Jase Hawkins were harbouring a big secret, albeit for a short time, and with delicate handling they managed to pull it off.

The relief was palpable when on Friday, February 9 the cat was let out of the bag that they were being revived on the airwaves as Nova 100’s new breakfast hosts.

And VWeekend can reveal their go-live date is locked in: Friday, March 8, ahead of the Labour Day long weekend.

“I have never seen a move like this be kept quiet, no one saw it coming,’’ Hawkins says.

“Not one person messaged me up until that morning. There was a night we snuck in and did a photoshoot in the studio and we were in separate cars … that Friday was an absolute whirlwind.”

Jason (Jase) Hawkins and Lauren Phillips are the new NOVA breakfast team. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Phillips says she protected the exciting development with cautious enthusiasm – simply out of dread that something could go wrong before the dream scenario played out.

“We swore each other to secrecy,’’ she says.

“For someone who’s terrible at keeping secrets, Jase looked me in the eye and said, ‘Do not stuff this up, Lauren.’

“I just avoided everyone. We’re lucky we’re so close and our families and partners have become so friendly that we felt like we had each others’ backs and didn’t need to talk to a whole range of other people. We wanted to do this as a team.

“It was like a MAFS (Married At First Sight) wedding. Until it was announced and we could talk about it and say it out loud, we still had this nervousness that something was going to go wrong.”

Once it was all confirmed and locked in, Hawkins and Phillips took themselves out for a long lunch with their partners to celebrate.

That’s the thing about this duo, they are understated but not to be underestimated. When KIIS FM made the anticipated announcement in November that Sydney powerhouse pair Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson were going national – pushing Jase and Lauren out of their coveted and strong-rating breakfast slot – the emotions spilled over. The incumbents were disappointed and hurt, but they knew deep down it couldn’t be the end.

Jason (Jase) Hawkins and Lauren Phillipswere “gutted” when they lost their show with KIIS. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“We were like wounded puppy dogs,’’ Phillips says. “I think when we finished up we just felt like we’d only got started, we were just getting to a point where the show was in such a good, comfortable, happy place.

“And then when that was taken from us we were gutted for losing the show. We felt like were just getting to the point where we were so proud of the show and we loved doing it.”

Hawkins doesn’t mince his words.

“It f. kin’ hurt, getting the arse hurt,’’ he says.

“I was a bit shocked, deeply gutted. I’ve been doing this for 27 years and to have a team with what we had was so rare.

“And we just feel like this city has had our back for the last couple of months, it’s been great.

“Everyone in that building was on edge and we weren’t getting answers. It was unfair and it’s not a way to treat people, full stop. And that’s probably what got me angry out of it all.

“It wasn’t us getting the arse, it was just how it was done.”

It still irks Hawkins how speculation came to light after rival FOX FM breakfast host Brendan Fevola went to air with rumours of Kyle and Jackie O’s Melbourne invasion in August.

“I’ve never met Fev and I’ve got no time for him,’’ Hawkins says.

“If I was the bigger person I would have even reached out and sent a text. Pull your head in, mate, no time for it. A lot of people were affected at the time.”

Hawkins and Phillips were brought together in August 2021 and soon found their groove with a loyal audience. Their last ratings result was their best, climbing above 9 per cent for the first time.

“We both said to each other: ‘Let’s see out these last two weeks’ after we were told. We decided we wanted to finish on a high, we wanted to finish as we’d begun with the same enthusiasm and excitement,’’ Phillips says.

Before landing in Melbourne, the Queensland-raised Hawkins spent time in Sydney from the age of 18-25. He then went over to Perth before returning to Sydney to replace Kyle and Jackie O on the Hot 30 program.

He went back to his home town Brisbane to do breakfast radio before spending three years in New Zealand, and for the past seven years he’s lived in Melbourne.

Phillips, who grew up in Melbourne, built her profile working on Channel 9 as a presenter and also in MC and ambassador roles.

“When we realised the show was coming to an end, we were kind of left scratching our heads thinking this can’t be it,’’ Phillips says.

“Jase was my first experience in radio and I couldn’t imagine getting up at the hours you do and looking at someone else.

“I don’t know if our hearts would have been in it with anyone else. We really felt we hit a goldmine when we found each other and got partnered together. We had never met each other, didn’t know each other and for the first few months couldn’t even go for a coffee because it was lockdown.

“It was such a unique pairing.”

For Hawkins and his wife Lou, who have three children aged 10, 8 and 2, they wanted to settle down and call Melbourne home.

“It was a lifetime decision, this is our home now,’’ he says.

“This last decision was about are we going to stay on, the kids are going to go to high school here. I’ll die in Melbourne.

“We’ve had so many code words around this and I’ve just called it ‘Project get me the f. k out of the house.’ The kids sat me down and said, ‘Dad, we think you need to get a job now.’”

Among the first to congratulate the pair was their new opposition and Hawkins’ old Sydney housemate, Sandilands.

“Straight away he sent us a text and said it was a very smart move and acknowledged that,’’ Hawkins says. “It’s been interesting who’s reached out and surprising who hasn’t.

“We’re not going to get caught up in the whole war between us and them. We just like to run our own race, it’s worked for us in the past. We were No. 2 when we finished up.”

Phillips, engaged to businessman and private jet tycoon Paul O’Brien, admits it took some time to find her feet on air and manage the ratio of how much to share with listeners.

Some of her close friends include A-listers Matt Damon and Chris Hemsworth – Hawkins has even lured Damon on the show to spill some intel.

“Coming from a television background where everything is a bit more polished and prepared, at the start it took me by surprise how kind of rogue and spontaneous and honest and raw the whole thing is,’’ Phillips says.

“It took me a minute to work out how much I was willing to give. And then in my first year I said too much a couple of times about personal things in our lives and Paul would say, ‘Did you need to say that?’

“It took me a while to work out what was and wasn’t for sharing. We can read each other’s minds at this point. I love it, it is the greatest job. I have a huge case of foot in mouth syndrome which the boys get an enormous amount of pleasure out of. When the three of us (Hawkins and the show’s news and sport reporter Clint Stanaway) are sitting there sometimes we turn the mics off and you’re like, Wow, we just said that out loud.

“I dreamt of being a radio host when I was younger. It’s the dream job for me. To come into a new business with such a great mate and to do it together we’re so lucky to be in this position. It’s certainly not lost on us that when you lose your job you don’t always get a second shot at it and this has been a real pinch me moment to realise this is it for us, we are putting absolutely everything into this.”

The duo’s much anticipated return to the airwaves on Nova 100 will take place on March 8, resuming the following Tuesday after Labour Day.

“Friday’s got a fun vibe, it’s just the date we looked at working for everyone,’’ Phillips says.

The team so far includes producer Brodie Pummeroy who is currently senior producer on the Ben, Liam and Belle show that will move to a national 6pm-8pm “late drive” shift.

Reuniting the full team, along with Stanaway, is still being negotiated.

Hawkins couldn’t be more excited for a long-term working future with Phillips.

“Yes we have gone to the penthouse and the elevators work,’’ he says.

“You could not get two more different people, but we just highly respect each other’s life. She doesn’t want mine and I don’t want hers. It just works.

“Nothing is going to change, the show will be exactly the same, there’s no reason to change it, everyone was supportive, everyone liked it, but think it’ll just be getting back into the routine. Turn the mics back on, we’re pumped.” ■