Source and article from The Age: The most anticipated radio show of 2008 will begin this morning when twostars try to resurrect a station’s sliding fortunes.

From 6am, rock station Triple M will try to spend and charm its way out of a troubled few years, using Myf Warhurst, of Spicks and Specks, and Rove’s Peter Helliar.

Helliar has been under pressure before. In 2004 he took on one of the biggest breakfast jobs in Australia when he, Kaz Cooke and Judith Lucy took over from Sydney’s long-time ratings queen Wendy Harmer.

The change was heavily hyped but came to grief, prompting Lucy to call her comedy festival show about the experience, I Failed! Helliar retained a job, and the women were sacked. “It’s different this time,” he said.

Warhurst is a seasoned Triple J host, who was promoted to the breakfast slot last year.

“It’s good to be back in Melbourne after a year and a half in Sydney,” she said. “But it’s a bit daunting when you see your head on a billboard. I almost vomited and crashed the car when I saw one. It’s a big push.”

The pair became notorious before they even hit the air, after management used their hiring to explain the axing of one of the station’s most popular shows, Tony Martin’s Get This.

Fans hated it. Warhurst said management’s official statement on Martin’s demise was a surprise. “I was a bit disappointed that we were the ones that were seen as the reason they were going,” she said.

Helliar was more affected, with a friend working on the axed show. He rang his comedy idol Martin to assure him he knew nothing of the move.

“I’ve had it assured to me that we didn’t cost them their jobs,” he said.

Melbourne’s breakfast radio timeslot is dominated by 3AW’s Ross Stevenson and John Burns. In the final ratings survey of 2007 they had a 20% share of the audience, ahead of ABC 774’s Red Symons (13.7%).

On the FM dial, Fox (11.6%) and Nova (10%) fight for supremacy. Triple M’s The Cage was the third-most popular FM breakfast show, with its 6.4% of the audience.

But its ratings had slid markedly. In the same survey two years earlier it was number one, with 11%, and the five-member team quit to be replaced by a duo.

Overall, Triple M is the sixth most popular station in Melbourne

Source The Age Daniel Ziffer January 21, 2008