Radio presenter Kyle Sandilands’ health has been a cause for concern for years, and now it seems his colleagues have a loose plan in place for his untimely death.
His co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson revealed on Thursday they would ‘go off the air immediately’ if Kyle were to die during a live broadcast.
She admitted on The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she ‘often’ thinks about what she would do in the event of the 49-year-old’s sudden death.
Morbid: Radio presenter Kyle Sandilands’ health has been a cause for concern for years, and now it seems his colleagues have a loose plan in place for his untimely death. Pictured in 2015
Jackie, 45, said she ‘wouldn’t be capable’ of continuing with the broadcast, even though Kyle has made it clear he wants a gushing tribute to follow his passing.
Kyle said he wants KIIS FM to air a highlight reel of his greatest moments while Boyz II Men’s One Sweet Day plays in the background.
It’s unclear if this is actually the network’s plan or if Kyle was just making a morbid joke. Daily Mail Australia has contacted KIIS FM for comment.
Elsewhere, the radio hosts revealed that many TV networks already have ‘death reels’ prepared for Kyle, including Seven, Nine and 10.
Daily Mail Australia understands that major websites and newspapers also have obituaries ready to go in the event of his death.
Grief: Jackie ‘O’ Henderson revealed on Thursday they would ‘go off the air immediately’ if Kyle were to die during a live broadcast. She also admitted she ‘often’ thinks about what she would do in the event of the 49-year-old’s sudden death
Kyle had sparked fears for his welfare on Wednesday when he didn’t show up for work at The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
The media titan, who has a history of health problems, offered no explanation for his absence and his colleagues couldn’t contact him because his phone was turned off – something he rarely does.
Jackie, his longtime co-host, and newsreader Brooklyn Ross sounded genuinely worried about him when they opened the show at 6am.
Concerns: Kyle sparked fears for his welfare on Wednesday when he didn’t show up for work
They explained he hadn’t called ahead to say he wouldn’t be at work and his phone was dead. Kyle’s friend and manager, Bruno Bouchet, also wasn’t picking up.
Jackie and Brooklyn sent a KIIS FM producer, John Nicholson, to Sandilands’ house in Sydney’s eastern suburbs to see if he was okay.
John, who was broadcasting the welfare check live on air, arrived at the home Kyle shares with his girlfriend, Tegan Kynaston, at about 6:25am and entered using a spare key.
Kyle’s dogs weren’t barking and no one responded when John called out.
Worrying: The KIIS FM star, who has a history of health problems, offered no explanation for his absence and his colleagues couldn’t contact him because his phone was turned off – something Kyle rarely does
For several agonising minutes, Jackie and the team feared the worst.
But at 6:29am, Kyle’s voice could be heard weakly calling out from his bedroom and he confirmed he was alive and well.
‘Hello,’ he said, seeming surprised to find John in his house.
‘Slept in, didn’t I? I don’t know [if my phone died]. I just woke up. I don’t know what happened.’
No joke: Jackie (right), his longtime co-host, and newsreader Brooklyn Ross (centre) sounded genuinely worried about him when they opened the show at 6am
When asked if he was going to work, Kyle said he ‘might as well give it a miss, we’re halfway through,’ even though it was only half past six.
He then agreed to come to the KIIS FM studio in North Ryde to finish the day’s broadcast.
Kyle’s manager later downplayed the seriousness of the incident.
‘We might need to get him a new phone – that Blackberry doesn’t seem to be very reliable!’ Bruno told Daily Mail Australia.
Welfare check: Jackie and Brooklyn sent a producer, John Nicholson, to check on Kyle (right) at the eastern suburbs home he shares with his girlfriend, Tegan Kynaston (left)
When Kyle eventually arrived at work in his Bentley shortly before 7am, he was met with cheers by a group of producers.
The staff looked visibly emotional and on the verge of tears in an Instagram Live video as Kyle reassured them: ‘You thought I was dead? I’m not dead!’
Despite laughing off the situation, it seems many at KIIS FM genuinely feared the radio presenter had died in his sleep.
Relief: When Kyle eventually arrived at work in his Bentley shortly before 7am, he was met with cheers by a group of producers. The staff looked visibly emotional and on the verge of tears as Kyle reassured them: ‘You thought I was dead? I’m not dead!’
Kyle, who lived rough on the streets as a teenager before becoming a multi-millionaire media titan, spent decades mistreating his body and makes no secret of his various health problems.
He revealed in an October 2019 interview that he was starting to take better care of himself on doctors’ orders, and had stopped drinking excessively and taking drugs.
‘Now, if I did one line, I’d be dead in five seconds,’ he said at the time.
‘I was like a teenage boy my entire life, and that caught up with me… so that had to get sorted out.’
Kyle had used cocaine and marijuana ‘on and off’ over the years, before deciding to completely cut them out of his life.
‘I’ve still got high blood pressure and I’m still on medication like a mess,’ he added.
In May last year, Kyle weighed himself on air and revealed he was 146kg – sixteen kilograms heavier than the last time he’d weighed himself.
Health woes: Kyle, who lived rough on the streets as a teenager before becoming a multi-millionaire media titan, spent decades mistreating his body and makes no secret of his various health problems. Pictured with Henderson on July 23, 2009, in Sydney
‘Yep, I’ve gone up a bit!’ he said at the time. ‘I’ve gone from 130kg to 146kg… I haven’t done a s**t yet, mind you.’
Back in 2017, Kyle was warned by a psychic that he was ‘going to die of a heart attack’ the following year.
While the psychic didn’t specify that his death would be weight related, she did warn him to get a calcium score test done on his heart.
A calcium score test measures the calcium in your arteries to determine the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
In 2014, obesity specialist Dr Edward Jackowski warned that Kyle would die young because of his weight and lifestyle.
The Kyle and Jackie O Show has dominated the airwaves in Sydney for two decades.
Kyle is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most prolific and talented broadcasters and is considered his country’s answer to Howard Stern.
Celebrated: The Kyle and Jackie O Show has dominated the airwaves in Sydney for two decades. Kyle is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most prolific and talented broadcasters and is considered his country’s answer to Howard Stern. Pictured in June 2008