Australian Idol 2023: Kyle Sandilands announces panel of judges

Kyle Sandilands raised eyebrows by accidentally announcing the death of his former Australian Idol co-star, Mark Holden, despite being very much alive.

The radio host let the blunder live on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Wednesday during the announcement of the new celebrity judging panel for the Idol reboot, which begins filming next month and will air on Channel Seven in 2023.

The lineup includes Sandilands, Australian singer-songwriter Amy Shark, and American musicians Meghan Trainor and Harry Connick Jr.

Kyle Sandilands (left) raised eyebrows on Wednesday by accidentally announcing the death of his former Australian Idol colleague Mark Holden (right) – despite being alive

After revealing the judges on the broadcast, Sandilands told his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson that he wished former judge Marcia Hines was part of the rebooted panel too.

“Well, you can’t bring back everyone who was on it,” Henderson said, to which Sandilands replied, “No. Well Mark [Holden] is dead.’

Holden, 68, was one of the three original Australian Idol judges but has not been invited to return to the panel for the reboot.

The highly anticipated lineup includes Sandilands, Australian singer Amy Shark and American stars Meghan Trainor and Harry Connick Jr (all pictured)

Ricki-Lee Coulter and Scott Tweedie (both pictured) will serve as hosts at the upcoming Australian Idol reboot

‘No he isn’t!’ replied Henderson. ‘Is not he? Oh…” Sandilands muttered, adding, “He’s as good as dead, I guess.”

Henderson did admit that Holden would not be a good choice for the show due to his battle with osteoporosis.

Sandilands agreed: “Well, you can’t walk all over the country with a bloody bag of bones in some sort of protective layer of jelly. I do like Mark. Gosh, Mark and I had fun.’

After revealing the judges on-air, Sandilands told his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson that he wished former judge Marcia Hines was part of the rebooted panel too.

“Well, you can’t bring back everyone who was on it,” Henderson replied, to which Sandilands agreed, “No. Well Mark [Holden] is dead’. Holden is still alive

Sandilands, Holden and Hines acted together as judges from 2005 to 2007.

Australian Idol is known for discovering a range of best-selling artists and spawning hit singles that have hit the charts.

You could join Aussies superstar Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy, Matt Corby, Ricki-Lee, Anthony Callea, Stan Walker, Casey Donovan and Courtney Act, and international icons Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert and more , all of whom launched their brilliant careers on the Idol stage,” the network said.

Sandilands, Holden and Hines appeared together as judges on the show from 2005 to 2007 (all pictured)

Seven announced plans for an Idol reboot in 2020 — at the time, the network had planned the show for 2022, but it’s now going through 2023.

Angus Ross, Seven’s Director of Programming, said at the time, ‘Idol is the grandfather of all! The biggest show in the world is coming to Seven in 2022, and we know Australians will love it.

Australian Idol is known for discovering a range of best-selling artists and spawning hit singles that have hit the charts. Pictured: Rob Mills on Australian Idol in 2003

“We can’t wait to bring Idol back to Australian audiences in 2022, putting our prime time content lineup even further ahead of the competition.”

“We’re home to the biggest franchises on television at Seven, and Idol is the biggest of them all. Bring on 2022!’ added Ross.

Based on the worldwide Pop Idol format – the most watched TV franchise in history – Australian Idol aired on Channel 10 from 2003 to 2009.

Pictured: Former Australian Idol (LR) judges Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson, Marcia Hines and Mark Holden, 2004

Channel 10 had originally bought the rights to the Idol franchise in 2003 for $15 million.

The first season was a huge success, attracting more viewers than major events like the AFL Grand Final.

Unlike other singing shows, Australian Idol has a track record for making bonafide stars, with the most notable being the inaugural winner, Guy Sebastian.

Popular performers who rose to fame during the show include Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, and Ricki-Lee Coulter. Pictured: Season one winner Guy Sebastian performs in Sydney in 2003