Kyle Sandilands has revealed he is personally looking after several former staff members from The Kyle and Jackie O Show after they were made redundant by ARN in a shock round of cuts. On Monday, ARN confirmed the redundancies of content assistant Alfie Laguzza, audio producer Dean Royston, who is better known to listeners as 'Hulk', and producer Eliza Brown.
Speaking to news.com.au, Sandilands confirmed he has already stepped in to support the affected staffers by hiring them to work at his media company King Kyle. 'They've all just moved to my office down the road and seem happier,' he said. 'What people don't seem to get is if you pull a thread and just keep tugging it, the entire structure collapses and you're left with a pile of thread and not much else.' 'I take care of my people, and I've got their backs,' he added.
Daily Mail Australia understands both Mr Royston and Mr Laguzza are now working for Kyle, while Ms Brown is not currently involved. Mr Laguzza was previously already employed by Kyle's company but is now expected to take on more hours.
An ARN spokesperson said the company had attempted to retain as many employees as possible following the end of The Kyle and Jackie O Show, but that 'unfortunately, a small number of roles could not be accommodated elsewhere in the business.'
The news comes weeks after Peter Deppeler – known to Australian radio fans as 'Intern Pete' – announced he is leaving KIIS FM to join Christian O'Connell's Gold FM breakfast show. The move comes after more than 12 years on The Kyle and Jackie O Show. In his new role, Pete will serve as both a roving reporter and senior producer on The Christian O'Connell Show – now Australia's first national commercial breakfast radio program, broadcasting across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
In a statement, Deppeler described O'Connell as someone he had long admired – going back to his broadcasting days in the UK – and said he was thrilled to be joining the team across Australia. Despite spending more than a decade alongside Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson, Pete confirmed he has not spoken to either of them since they departed ARN, meaning he has not yet received Kyle's blessing on the move. He remains hopeful, however, that his former boss would be supportive, saying Kyle had always wanted happiness for him.
Meanwhile, KIIS FM has remained tight-lipped about potential replacement plans amid its ongoing legal battle over unfair dismissal claims by Kyle and Jackie. However, sources revealed that talks with prospective replacements are already 'well underway'.
