Yes, I have a feeling that the shonky way they replaced Sarah MacGilvray with Kate Ritchie will have a negative impact on the show. We’ll have to wait and see whether Nova management are right about Kate’s popularity and whether she can offset that and bring in enough new listeners.
We also don’t know whether there will be any chemistry between the three and how Kate will cope with the Breakfast shift. It’s a case of wait and see.
She has done breakfast before. The show needs a shot in the arm it’s old and has plateaued.
I don’t think they chose it. I think they expected Kate to return to drive, but if the gossip from Kyle & Jackie O is to be believed, she refused to work with Tim Blackwell again - which may have been something that came from her therapy and recovery. It’s unfortunate Sarah had to become collateral damage in the shake up though.
Interesting the show name is ‘Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie’. Does that indicate Kate’s role is more minor, perhaps she will only be in for two of the three hours, or work 4 days a week etc.?
My thoughts are that the boys maybe wanted to keep their ‘Fitzy and Wippa’ branding seperate and intact
Almost every comment on the Instagram post announcing Kate arriving is slamming the replacement of Sarah. Hardly anyone welcoming Kate.
This is a massive PR disaster for Nova Ent. They made exactly the same mistakes that 2GO made when they sacked Paddy and Sarah,
and their show just disappeared off the airwaves without being allowed to say goodbye.
Back then that story made the local NBN news and they got to say their goodbyes.
95% of all comments on Nova socials are negative, and there is probably over 500 comments across Facebook and Instagram. What is sad is people are taking it out on Kate, and tagging her in their comments. She does not deserve this, and this is not good for her mental health. It would have been a crap first day to go through all of this.
There is a change.org petition to bring back Sarah and a hashtag now circulating too.
Today was the day that the shit was going to hit the fan , the day when the audience realised what had happened behind the scenes.
They are totally pissed off, and in protest threatening to switch stations.
I think management underestimated how popular Sarah was with the audience, they failed to read the room.
Quite interesting how the post about Ricki-Lee joining Tim and Joel has been mostly positive. After today’s announcement though, they continue to be positive about Ricki-Lee on that post but they are also being negative about Kate replacing Sarah.
It seems most comments say they don’t think Kate is great on radio with any team. Nova management are not switched on to what listeners out there really think.
Rickie-Lee post
She’s releasing new music, not related to this
Next Red Room artist?
As they should.
Also, using the “with” branding means that they can use Kate’s full name for better recognition from the public.
She was good when the show was Kate, Tim, and Marty.
The tension between Kate and Marty, was similar to that of Wendy Harmer and Peter Moon.
It makes great radio, but it becomes toxic.
Nope - that would be Dean Lewis in a few days’ time.
who knows how Fitzy, Wippa, and Kate go - this might actually happen for real 
Fitzy resigns live on air - YouTube
Their best stitch up, Classic!!!
Looks like they are doing a Sam Pang with Kate Ritchie.
She is only on the show from 7-9.
Ridiculous.
