Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little announce split as she heads to KIIS FM after her rift with SCA radio bosses: ‘Not how I wanted it to end’

Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little have sensationally canned their popular Hit Network radio show.  

After almost a decade on the air together, the hosts of the Carrie & Tommy show are calling time on the drivetime program, with news of the exit breaking on Wednesday. 

The high-rating, long-running series, which is the third most-listened-to network radio program in Australia, is expected to wrap up by year’s end. 

Bickmore is believed to be defecting to rival station KIIS FM, where she will replace Will McMahon and Woody Whitelaw, who front the Will & Woody drivetime show. 

Bickmore tearfully announced her departure during Wednesday’s afternoon broadcast. 

‘I’ve loved every minute of doing the show,’ the emotional host told listeners. 

‘It’s not every day you get to come and have a laugh and call it your job with your best mate and the funniest guy in the country, and that’s what we’ve got to do for the last decade.’

Little called the ending of their partnership ‘really sad’.  

‘It’s certainly not how I wanted it to end. I love this job, and I would have kept doing it for a long time,’ he said. 

‘But I don’t always get my way, and I feel very grateful. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity. I think we’ve had an amazing job to do.’

Matthew O’Reilly, SCA’s head of broadcast content, thanked ‘everyone who worked on the show, pouring their energy, creativity, and passion into making it what it is today’ in an internal email obtained by the Daily Telegraph. 

‘Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little have built a loyal audience through their genuine friendship, big laughs and their own unique take on the ordinary,’ he wrote.

‘From caravanning across Queensland to surprising lucky listeners with once-in-a-lifetime trips to Paris, running a South African marathon for Carrie’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer Foundation or braving their icy Tassie lake plunge, Carrie and Tommy have constantly taken their audience along for the ride. 

‘Throw in their annual “Roast” and legendary “Mystery Bus” tours, and they have kept their fans laughing year after year.

‘Over the next few weeks, we look forward to celebrating everything Carrie and Tommy have given to their listeners over the last 10 years.’

It’s a major blow for the Hit Network’s programming, with Carrie & Tommy broadcast in all major cities, including in Sydney, where it airs on 2Day FM, Melbourne, where it’s hosted by Fox, as well as being heard on Brisbane’s B105. 

Bickmore and Little have one of radio’s most high-profile partnerships, having hosted the 3pm to 6pm time slot together since 2017. 

Inside Mail broke the news last week that Bickmore was eyeing an exit from SCA following the company’s merger with Seven West Media.

Despite Bickmore being popular with advertisers and listeners, apparently SCA is ‘quite happy to let her go’ to KIIS drive.

Inside Mail was told that relations have cooled and there is ‘no love lost there’. 

Bickmore and her co-host Little are one of the longest-lasting radio duos out there with a rusted-on national audience.

Little’s future is less clear, amid murmurs of a bidding war between KIIS and the Hit Network. 

If he does end up staying with SCA, all signs point to pairing him with Loren Barry.

SCA wouldn’t comment on the record, though a source cautioned that line-up speculation is rife at this time of year. 

Off the air, Bickmore and Little have one of radio’s most talked-about friendships, as well as being at the centre of romance rumours for some years. 

The bond between Carrie, 45, and Tommy, 41, has long been the subject of speculation thanks to their on-air chemistry and flirty social media exchanges.

The pair last ignited speculation in September, when they enjoyed an idyllic Queensland getaway together.

The pals have made several social appearances together in the past year, cuddling up at a golf tournament in Adelaide and enjoying a trip to Uluru.

Carrie recently showed her support for Tommy’s career when she stepped out at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival to cheer him on during one of his shows.

Despite all the chatter, Carrie and Tommy have consistently denied romantic relationship rumours and insisted they are the best of friends. 

Bickmore split from longtime partner Chris Walker in 2023.