There has been a mass exodus at Nova radio, with Chrissie Swan, Sam Pang and Jonathan Brown the latest to quit the station.
The trio announced they were leaving their top-rating breakfast show Chrissie, Sam & Browny on Friday, after seven years on-air.
‘We have relied on each other in this studio and it’s a good idea to put a bow on what has been this entire experience for all of us and bow out gracefully,’ Chrissie said in an emotional statement.
Bloodbath at Nova: Chrissie Swan (pictured), Sam Pang and Jonathan Brown QUIT their top-rating breakfast radio show after Kate Ritchie steps down from station’s drive program
‘I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved professionally and personally since we first met in 2015 — especially the last few years as we all kept each other afloat during the pandemic.’
It comes after Kate Ritchie announced she is taking a break from her Nova FM drive show.
She will be off the air for the remainder of the year but will return alongside co-hosts Joel Creasey and Tim Blackwell in early 2023, she announced on Thursday.
Ritchie, 43, who was busted for low-range drink driving in August, explained to listeners she’d had an ‘incredibly hectic and full-on’ year and needed time off.
It comes after Kate Ritchie announced she is taking a break from her Nova FM drive show. She will be off the air for the remainder of the year but will return alongside co-hosts Joel Creasey and Tim Blackwell in early 2023, she announced on Thursday
‘This past year has been incredibly hectic and full-on for both me and my family,’ she said.
‘I have had much change and increased stress in my life, like many of you, in a short space of time. And it has taken its toll.
‘But still I am so proud that our Nova show, with Tim and Joel and the team, is just powering along, and going from strength to strength.’
Ritchie, 43, who was busted for low-range drink driving in August, explained to listeners she’d had an ‘incredibly hectic and full-on’ year and needed time off
She added: ‘We love our audience and they seem to put up with us.
‘And as you may have guessed, I invest a lot of emotional energy into everything I do, my work, and my family especially, and the last few months I have been working on radio, I’ve been returning to TV and in my spare time, I even wrote a children’s book.
‘So, it’s simple, like some of you, I imagine, I’m tired and I just need a break for a short while and have more time for me, and for my family, to re-energise.
‘I have spoken with the bosses at Nova, and they have graciously agreed that this is a good time to take the break, as we approach the end of the year.
‘Nova has been fabulous and understanding, so thank you Nova, and thank you Tim, Joel and the team, and most importantly, thank you to all of our fabulous listeners. I really mean that.
‘It’s time to recharge the batteries and come back fresh next year. And although it’s only for a short time, I will miss you all. I’ll see you in the New Year.’
Peter Charlton, the chief executive of Nova Entertainment, said: ‘Kate is a talented broadcaster and a respected member of the Kate, Tim & Joel and Nova Network team.
‘We are very supportive of Kate’s decision to take some time for herself and her family. We look forward to welcoming her back in the New Year.’
Ritchie, who is currently appearing as a judge on Channel Seven’s Australia’s Got Talent (pictured), first joined Nova FM in 2007
Ritchie, who is currently appearing as a judge on Channel Seven’s Australia’s Got Talent, first joined Nova FM in 2007.
The former Home and Away child star began hosting the Kate, Tim & Marty drive show with Blackwell and Marty Sheargold in 2014.
Creasy was hired in 2020 when Sheargold left for Triple M.
Rumours about Ritchie’s future at Nova began swirling in August, after she was charged with drink-driving in Sydney‘s eastern suburbs.
She was stopped by police for a random breath test in her Subaru station wagon at 2.45pm, tested positive by the roadside and was taken to Maroubra Police Station.
Rumours about Ritchie’s future at Nova began swirling in August, after she was charged with drink-driving in Sydney’s eastern suburbs
There she underwent a secondary breath analysis which returned a positive reading of 0.06 – just over the legal limit.
A NSW Police spokesman said at the time: ‘She was issued with an infringement notice for the offence of Drive with Low Range Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol and issued a Licence Suspension Notice.’
Ritchie, who shares a young daughter with ex-husband Stuart Webb, is understood to have been fined $600 on the spot and suspended from driving for three months.
She later issued a statement on Instagram expressing remorse for her actions.
Ritchie is understood to have been fined $600 on the spot and suspended from driving for three months. She later issued this apology on Instagram
‘Recently I undertook a random breath test. Although it was low level, the test came back positive,’ she wrote.
‘I made a poor decision and there is no doubt I understand the seriousness of my actions. I am truly sorry.’
At the time of her charge, listeners had noticed Ritchie’s frequent absences from the show after she clocked up a series of extended holidays in recent years.
At one point in 2020, Ritchie took seven consecutive weeks of leave from her late-afternoon shift, which one radio figure said was ‘unheard of’.
Her bumper salary package has steadily grown over the years to an estimated $1million, leading to rumours Nova could seek to replace her with fill-in host Ricki-Lee Coulter, who would cost the network just $300,000 per year.
Ritchie’s (left) bumper salary package has steadily grown over the years to an estimated $1million, leading to rumours Nova could seek to replace her with fill-in host Ricki-Lee Coulter (right), who would cost the network just $300,000 per year
Source: | Dailymail.co.uk