Kate Ritchie only works two hours a day for Nova FM’s Fitzy and Wippa

Kate Ritchie will not be working full time on Nova FM’s Fitzy and Wippa despite another woman losing her job so she could join the Sydney breakfast show.

A Nova spokesperson has confirmed that Ritchie will be on the air from 7am to 9am.

The first hour of the show will only feature co-hosts Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli and newscaster Matt De Groot.

While Ritchie isn’t the first breakfast radio host to work reduced hours, her later start and ten-hour work week have caught the attention of radio pundits.

industry professionals in Media Spy Forums He called the move “ridiculous” after Fitzy and Wippa co-host Sarah McGilvray, who was working standard radio breakfast time, was ousted to make way for Ritchie.

A representative for Nova said that Ritchie, which starts at 7 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., reflects the “different audience” during the first hour of breakfast radio: a demographic of beginners, including traditional ones, familiar in the industry as ‘at six o’clock’.

They did not specify whether Ritchie would work a full five-day week or take Fridays off, which sometimes occurs when breakfast hosts work limited hours.

“The 6am to 7am time has a very different audience and feel, and Fitzy & Wippa’s 6am club is hugely popular with their loyal early-rising listeners,” the spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. .

‘The addition of a new high-profile voice from 7 a. Ben, Liam and Belle in Adelaide.

“We plan to deliver everything Fitzy & Wippa audiences have loved about the show for the past 12 years with the addition of something new with Kate joining the team each morning.”

A Nova spokesperson confirmed that Ritchie (center) will be on the air from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. The first hour will only feature co-hosts Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald (left) and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli (right)

McGilvray’s brutal departure from Fitzy & Wippa was finally acknowledged on Monday, four weeks after he disappeared from the airwaves.

McGilvray spent 12 years working for the breakfast show Nova 96.9, eight of them on the microphone, before being ousted to make way for Ritchie, who was recruited from the network’s national driving show.

Co-hosts Fitzgerald and Wipfli paid tribute to their former colleague on Monday, their first day on the air with Ritchie as host.

While they were no doubt being sincere in wishing their partner well, one comment was painfully awkward in light of the circumstances of McGilvray’s departure.

Wipfli urged McGilvray to “stay in the radio game”, which felt like a hollow gesture given the fact that Nova’s management fired her from her job.

Sarah McGilvray’s brutal departure from Fitzy & Wippa was finally acknowledged on Monday by her former co-hosts Fitzgerald and Wipfli.

McGilvray (pictured) spent 12 years working for the breakfast show Nova 96.9, eight of them in front of the microphone, before being ousted to make way for Ritchie.

“Guys, we wanted to have a chat here because with the announcement we made on Friday about the show, the excitement of Kate Ritchie joining, it’s clear that Sarah, who has worked with us for the last ten years, has left the show. ‘ Wipfli began.

So we wanted to say a couple of words just to acknowledge that and also thank Sez. She has been a huge part of the show for the past ten years, and as a colleague and friend of hers even more so, we want to say that we love her very much and that she has given her all on this show.

“We hope it stays in the radio game.”

Fitzgerald went on to say that McGilvray had started out as a producer before stepping in front of the microphone and helping create some “incredible moments” on the show.

He recounted his ‘favorite Sar moment’ when the team of Fitzy and Wippa were in Los Angeles on a work trip and saw Leonardo DiCaprio smoking a cigarette ‘in the back of his hotel’ and McGilvray tried unsuccessfully to take a photo. with the. .

‘We talk about it to this day. Those memories will stay with me forever, Sarah. I love you to death,’ she added.

Wipfli concluded: ‘So we thank you, Sez. We know you’re great at the radio game. We hope you keep it up and we wish you all the best.

Nova confirmed in a statement last Friday that Ritchie would join Fitzgerald and Wipfli on their Sydney breakfast show starting March 13.

“I am very excited to join Fitzy and Wippa in the competitive breakfast space,” said Ritchie.

“I am a huge fan of the show and have been a great partner to the guys for years. The past eight years of driving have been a big part of my life, but I’m thrilled to take on this new challenge by returning to breakfast radio in my hometown.

“I can’t wait to wake up Sydneysiders to two of the industry’s most beloved breakfast hosts.”

Fitzgerald and Wipfli added: ‘We have pestered Kate in the office for over ten years; now we can do it every morning.

“We are excited for our audience to hear how funny Kate thinks we are. Nova’s listeners have always loved Kate and now they’ll be serving her up every day of the week. Please, she enjoys your breakfast.

The announcement came a day after Ricki-Lee Coulter was confirmed as Ritchie’s replacement on the national Kate, Tim and Joel driving show.

Fitzgerald and Wipfli co-host McGilvray (second right) faced a ‘brutal’ exit when Nova management needed a role for Ritchie after his afternoon position became untenable.

Ritchie had been absent from the evening schedule for months, during which time he checked himself into a rehab center for alcohol dependency.

Over breakfast, McGilvray faced a ‘brutal’ exit from the Fitzy & Wippa show to make way for Ritchie, with Nova FM staff speaking of their ‘shock’ and ‘confusion’ at his sudden departure.

Current and former employees of the radio station told Daily Mail Australia they were shocked by the news that McGilvray was being sidelined, with some only finding out about it through the press two weeks ago.

A staff member said her departure was “brutal” for someone who had “gave a decade of her life” to a radio show and was popular with listeners, adding that she was “put aside without even a proper goodbye.” .

The Nova boys are baffled. Most people didn’t even know about it until the stories broke. Everyone had been asking, “Where’s Sarah?” and they were confused,’ said another.

McGilvray worked on Fitzy and Wippa for 12 years, eight of which he co-hosted with Fitzgerald and Wipfli. Before that, she was a senior producer.

McGilvray worked on Fitzy and Wippa for 12 years, eight of which he co-hosted with Fitzgerald and Wipfli. Before that, she was a senior producer.

His departure came after a dispute with management over his role in the network.

A source with knowledge of the discussion said McGilvray was “upset and angry” at her bosses for effectively taking her job by bringing in Ritchie as the third anchor.

Nova executives apparently tried to offer her a “comfort deal” that would see her take on a “management-type role” within the company, but she turned it down and left.