'No one warned her': Jackie O was 'badly advised' in early days of Kyle fallout, Peter Ford says

Jackie 'O' Henderson was "badly advised" in the early days of her fallout with Kyle Sandilands, respected entertainment reporter Peter Ford believes.

However, while he said Sandilands needs to be on air, he does not think his longtime co-host feels the same and would not be surprised if she takes a break from the airwaves.

"No one warned her what was about to happen when she sent that notification that she couldn't work with Kyle Sandilands," Ford told nine.com.au today from the US.

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"It was interpreted as being, 'Well, we will release you from your contract because you obviously don't want to do the job anymore'."

While he was "not in the least" surprised Sandilands' $100 million contract with Australian Radio Network (ARN) was terminated today, he does believe it will be the last we hear of the radio host.

With both Sandilands and Henderson "now running their own races", Ford said their futures look very different.

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"I don't think they are going to team up again, either. I think they will remain solo performers," Ford said.

"I don't think they would take Kyle on, there's too much baggage now. He's got the lobby groups after him all the time. It's just too hard.

"Even though he is such a brilliant radio performer … I just don't think anyone is going to touch him with a barge pole."

"[Kyle] needs to be on air. He is like Dracula needing blood ... I don't know if Jackie is as drive."

While he thought Henderson could possibly have a career on radio if she went it alone, he admitted she was 'untested' as a solo performer.

"There is no doubt she is capable, but whether she can pull in those extraordinary ratings will remain to be seen," he said.

Ford also believed they were at different stage of their lives and wanted - and needed - different things.

"He needs to be on air. He is like Dracula needing blood," Ford said.

"He would never walk away from this, and I don't know how he's going to cope if this goes on for years and if he is prevented from working.

"I don't know if Jackie is as driven ... even though she has done it for a long time and been very successful, I don't know if it's in her DNA that she had to be doing it.

"So she may be happy to not do it for a while and let this all play out. If it all goes her way, then financially, it's not going to be an issue for her at all. She can relax and enjoy her life."

Ford said it would now be up to their respective lawyers to fight it out with ARN.

"Jackie is still in a state of shock and Kyle is in a rampage," he said.

"The recurring theme in both their stories is that the network did not want them there anymore.

"They wanted them off the books and they had become highly problematic, incredibly expensive.

"They needed to find a way out and they've seized upon this moment from February 20 as the catalyst to be able to get rid of both of them.

"Now, whether time's going to demonstrate if that was a wise choice or not, obviously ARN has got very good legal advice, and obviously Kyle has, and I am sure Jackie is getting it too.

"But not everybody is going to be proven to be correct eventually."

Ford said part of their legal fight would centre around the fact neither were employees of ARN.

"They were always contractors, so the obligations in the workplace were quite different. They were contracted to deliver a radio show," he said.

"Also my understanding of it is the contract that was drawn up is incredibly watertight in Kyle's favour.

"So I'm told every base is covered… and their case is absolutely rock solid.

"The ARN obviously believe differently. The grounds upon which they are being terminated are quite different."

And while he thinks Sandilands could one day become a radio talk back host in the mould of his idols Stan Zamenek and John Laws, he thinks he is too immature for that just yet.

"I honestly believe he will eventually get into talk radio," he said.

"I don't think he is ready enough or mature enough yet but Kyle loves talk radio. He listens to talk radio all the time.

"But I don't think he is ready for talk radio and I don't think talk radio is ready for him yet.

"And certainly, the pay packet would be nothing like he is used to getting."

Instead, he sees Kyle's future in subscription-based podcasting: "It will give him the outlet to broadcast and could be very viable financially."

He also predicted this would remove the guardrails for Sandilands.

"I mean, that's the wild west. He can do anything, he can say anything," he said. 

"Potentially, it could mean that what we have been seeing is only a mild version of Kyle. The sky's the limit, I would think."

Nor does he see him moving overseas.

"Part of Kyle's attraction is sending up local people, celebrities, politicians," Ford said.

"I read somewhere he might go to Dubai, which is a very conservative place. I don't think Dubai would be ready for Kyle, frankly."

As for a final word on their futures, Ford had this to say:

"They are both untested, they are magic, but their success has been as a duo. But there is no doubt they are both solid radio performers, but whether they are superstar performers? Time will tell."

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