Alert – Kate Ritchie ‘worried’ co-host Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald’s family move could spell the end for their radio show – amid claims of behind-the-scenes tension

Kate Ritchie’s Nova FM breakfast show is facing an uncertain future amid reports her co-host Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzerald is planning to move interstate. 

Fitzy, 47, is planning to relocate to Adelaide with his family early next year, but will continue to present the show remotely.

However, industry insiders say his co-host Kate, 45, is worried that the move could spell disaster for the show, less than a year after she replaced Sarah McGilvray as Fitzy and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli’s sidekick. 

‘I’d say Kate’s pretty worried how it will affect the show and the team,’ a source told Woman’s Day magazine on Tuesday. 

Kate jumped ship from Nova’s drive time show in March, amid rumoured tensions between her co-hosts Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold.

Kate Ritchie ‘s Nova FM breakfast show is facing an uncertain future amid reports her co-host Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzerald is planning to move interstate. (L-R: Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald, Kate Ritchie and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli) 

However, an insider has suggested history is now repeating itself, with tensions apparently brewing between Kate and her new co-hosts. 

‘There are whispers that the bosses also felt they had to agree to Fitzy’s requests [to move to Adelaide] to avoid unforeseeable drama that could unfold at the Sydney studio,’ one insider said. 

‘It’s no secret that Kate… being slotted into the boys’ radio show wasn’t their idea.’ 

Fitzy, 47, is planning to relocate to Adelaide with his family early next year, but will continue to present the show remotely. (Fitzy pictured with wife Belinda and their sons Hewy and Lenny)  

The source claimed Fitzy and Wippa ‘weren’t sold’ on Kate being added to the team, and saw the move as a ‘publicity stunt’ for ratings. 

Meanwhile, industry insiders recently told Yahoo that allowing Fitzy to broadcast remotely could have dire consequences for the on-air chemistry of the show.

‘Fitzy moving to Adelaide and doing the show from there is a huge risk. The chemistry is never the same when hosts are not in the same studio,’ a source said last month.  

‘I’d say Kate’s pretty worried how it will affect the show and the team,’ a source told Woman’s Day magazine on Tuesday

‘There are whispers that the bosses also felt they had to agree to Fitzy’s requests [to move to Adelaide ] to avoid unforeseeable drama that could unfold at the Sydney studio,’ an insider said 

‘Nova will have to work hard to maintain the same energy so the long distance doesn’t convey on air.’ 

They added it was a particularly risky move because if the show loses listeners as a result, then the hosts contracts may not be renewed. 

Nova’s breakfast show has been struggling for some time, and it was reported last month that since Kate, joined in March the program’s rating have been dwindling.

The Radio Ratings 2023, Survey 7 results which were recently released revealed the breakfast show had fallen 0.2 points, from from 7.3 to 7.1. 

Further, the ratings war will reach new heights next year as The Kyle And Jackie O Show launch their top-rating breakfast show in Melbourne. 

Meanwhile, industry insiders recently told Yahoo that allowing Fitzy to broadcast remotely could have dire consequences for the on-air chemistry of the show