It was thought that when Kyle and Jackie O launched into Melbourne on KIIS 101.1 on April 29, Byron Cooke, who has been covering the breakfast show, would return to his regular Workdays role with the station. Not so. He has announced that he will be leaving not just the station but the country for an overseas opportunity, with his last day Friday 5 April.

Cooke has been with KIIS 101.1 just shy of two years, and had worked various on-air roles prior to that as well as hosting his podcast The Byron Cooke Show.

He said:

“I’ve absolutely loved my KIIS 101.1 era! Thank you to the team at ARN for your belief and support over the past couple of years. A life-changing international radio opportunity awaits, and I look forward to sharing those details soon.”

That leaves a three weeks gap between Cooke leaving, till launch date. Perhaps, as we tentatively suggested earlier, The Kyle & Jackie O Show might just spring a surprise by going earlier than that.