Bianca Dye has exceeded all expectations since filling in as KIIS FM's breakfast show host and is fast becoming the name on everyone's lips at Australian Radio Network (ARN), according to an insider.
Earlier this year, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson's The Kyle and Jackie O Show left the prime-time slot after an on-air tiff saw the pair's radio alliance unravel, resulting in separate lawsuits filed by the duo against ARN and their show getting the axe.
Since then, the 52-year-old has filled in a number of times across Sydney and Melbourne's channels, pleasantly surprising both listeners and network insiders and emerging as an unexpected standout, Daily Mail reports.
"Bianca has absolutely surprised people," a well-placed source told the publication. "There were expectations she'd do a solid job, but the reaction internally has been much stronger than anticipated."
However, while Dye has blown away both radio bosses and the morning commute crowd, a separate source has insisted that ARN's rotating slate of hosts are not in an "audition" process for the coveted slot.
"People inside the industry are treating the fill-ins like auditions, but that's not necessarily how ARN views it," the insider told the outlet, adding that conversations about a possible replacement are "happening elsewhere".
Other sources have claimed that ARN executives are looking for more than just a stock standard radio host, they're looking for a triple threat. The Mail reports that radio bosses are looking for someone with "television experience, radio credibility and podcasting success" to replace radio veterans Sandilands and Henderson.
Dye is no stranger to radio, hosting The Nitemix Across Australia in the 1990s and fronting the former Bianca, Ben & Lakey show 90.9 Sea FM Gold Coast, which was axed towards the end of 2023. The media whizz is the only woman in commercial radio to win the prestigious Australian Commercial Radio Award (ACRA) for best entertainment presenter four times.
She has also had her fair share of TV opportunities, appearing on the first season of Channel Nine's The Golden Bachelor in 2025, as well as appearing in the likes of Beauty and the Beast and Thank God You're Here over the years.
Various big-named Aussie stars have been rumoured to be in discussions with ARN to front KIIS FM's open breakfast slot. In April, insiders revealed that Samantha Armytage had been tipped as a frontrunner after she received a call from ARN following The Kyle and Jackie O Show's axing.
Today host Karl Stefanovic was also rumoured to be up for the gig, but announced last month that he would be fronting his own show with ARN alongside Eddie McGuire. The Long Weekend, a new weekly news, sport and entertainment format, will be broadcast live on the Gold Network on Fridays from 12pm to 3pm across Australia, live streamed and on demand on iHeart from June 19.
A number of media personalities have trialled the KIIS FM breakfast slot as a fill in over the past couple of months, with the likes of Abbie Chatfield, Georgie Tunny and Smallzy taking turns in the coveted role.
