‘Not how I wanted it to end’: Carrie Bickmore, Tommy Little end Hit Network radio show

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Byrne, F. (2026, October 21). ‘Not how I wanted it to end’: Carrie Bickmore, Tommy Little end Hit Network radio show. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/certainly-not-how-i-wanted-it-to-end-carrie-bickmore-tommy-little-end-hit-network-radio-show-20261021-p617ek.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-21 · by Fiona Byrne

Quick Summary

Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little have ended their decade-long radio show on Hit Network after nearly ten years together. During an emotional announcement on air, both expressed sadness about the end of their partnership. While Bickmore is rumored to be considering a move to rival station KIIS FM, no official replacement for the duo has been announced yet by the network.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

After almost a decade on air, Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little, hosts of the national drive show "Carrie & Tommy" on Hit Network, announced their departure from the radio station in emotional segments this week. The pair decided to end their show at the close of 2026, with Bickmore fighting back tears during the announcement. While both expressed gratitude for their time together, Little noted it was "certainly not how I wanted it to end," indicating he would have continued if given the choice. Industry insiders had been speculating about the show's future for several months prior to the official announcement. Bickmore highlighted the duo’s ability to tackle uncomfortable topics and provide comfort to listeners on tough days, underscoring their impact beyond just entertainment.

Written for “Carrie Bickmore And Tommy Little End Radio Show” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 95568 · logged 2026-10-21

Story

📰 Carrie Bickmore And Tommy Little End Radio Show
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
42
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 42 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 4399 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Fiona Byrne
14 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 After almost a decade as a radio team, Gold Logie winner Carrie Bickmore and comedian Tommy Little have called time on their Carrie & Tommy national drive show and will exit the Hit Network at the end of the year.
🔮 “If it turns out that it’s a criminal matter, there was intent, etc, etc, charges will follow subsequently.
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Also by Fiona Byrne
Pencil case to blame for premier’s petrol station blunder
2026-10-21 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 14 articles by Fiona Byrne →

Topics

ARN KIIS KIIS FM Southern Cross Austereo the Hit Network

Subjects

Carroll PERSON · 6× Little PERSON · 4× Bickmore PERSON · 3× Carrie PERSON · 3× Tommy PERSON · 3× the Hit Network ORG · 2× ARN ORG · 1× Carrie Bickmore PERSON · 1× KIIS FM ORG · 1× Tommy Little PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Carroll, who has toughened up the state government’s crackdown on crime since assuming the role of premier in July, found himself on the wrong side of the law on Monday night after he filled up his car at a petrol station in Airport West and drove off without paying.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
🔮 After almost a decade as a radio team, Gold Logie winner Carrie Bickmore and comedian Tommy Little have called time on their Carrie & Tommy national drive show and will exit the Hit Network at the end of the year.
2026-10-21 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Pencil case to blame for premier’s petrol station blunder · assertive framing
2026-10-21 · The Sydney Morning Herald
‘Not how I wanted it to end’: Carrie Bickmore, Tommy Little end Hit Network radio show · assertive framing

Claims (42 extracted, 0 hedged)

After almost a decade as a radio team, Gold Logie winner Carrie Bickmore and comedian Tommy Little have called time on their Carrie & Tommy national drive show and will exit the Hit Network at the end of the year. asserted
Bickmore → call → year
Bickmore fought back tears while making the announcement on air on Wednesday, while her co-host Little said it was “certainly not how I wanted it to end”. The future of the show had been a talking point in industry circles for some months. asserted
future → fight → months
“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,” an emotional Bickmore said. asserted
Bickmore → ’ → country
“I think we’ve been able to do something on this show that often people are too scared to do, to talk about stuff that sometimes is uncomfortable. asserted
that → think → stuff
We hope that we’ve had some small impact on your life in some small way … [and been] company for you on shitty days and asserted
we → hope → days
[made] you laugh.” asserted
you → make → ?
Little said he was sad that this chapter of his radio career was coming to an end. asserted
chapter → say → end
“It’s certainly not how I wanted it to end. asserted
it → ’ → ?
I loved this job and I would have kept doing it for a long time, but I don’t always get my way,” Little said. asserted
Little → love → way
“I feel very grateful. asserted
I → feel → ?
I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity. asserted
I → feel → opportunity
We’re going to be on air until the end of the year, and we’re going to try and make the best radio we can.” asserted
we → go → radio
Bickmore is rumoured to have been courted by ARN over recent months to move to rival KIIS FM to helm that station’s drive show in 2027. asserted
Bickmore → rumour → 2027
The KIIS drive shift is up for grabs with the Will & Woody drive show, hosted by Will McMahon and Woody Whitelaw, finishing up at the end of the year. asserted
show → host → year
Matthew O’Reilly, the head of broadcast content for Southern Cross Austereo, owner of the Hit Network, informed staff via an internal memo of the end of the Carrie & Tommy show. asserted
O’Reilly → inform → show
“Over the next few weeks, we look forward to celebrating everything Carrie and Tommy have given to their listeners over the last 10 years,” O’Reilly said in the note. asserted
O’Reilly → look → note
“Thank you to Carrie, Tommy and everyone who worked on the show, pouring their energy, creativity, and passion into making it what it is today. asserted
it → thank → energy
We wish them the very best for what’s next.” asserted
what → wish → best
No announcement has been made yet as to who will replace the pair in the drive shift next year. asserted
who → make → shift
Pencil case to blame for premier’s petrol station blunder It is not quite the dog-ate-my-homework excuse, but Premier Ben Carroll has blamed a pencil case, forgetfulness and human error for an embarrassing moment at the bowser. asserted
Carroll → blame → bowser
Carroll, who has toughened up the state government’s crackdown on crime since assuming the role of premier in July, found himself on the wrong side of the law on Monday night after he filled up his car at a petrol station in Airport West and drove off without paying. asserted
he → toughen → West
“Late Monday night, I was running some errands and filled up the car with petrol. asserted
I → run → petrol
Found out yesterday I forgot to pay,” he fessed up on Wednesday morning. asserted
he → find → morning
A call from Victoria Police to the Department of Parliamentary Services alerted the premier to the bungle, and Carroll returned to the service station to settle his bill on Tuesday night. asserted
Carroll → alert → night
“It shows that politicians are human beings and even premiers make mistakes,” Carroll said of the forgetful moment on Wednesday morning. asserted
Carroll → show → morning
Speaking at Melbourne Assembly, he said he was on dad duty and running errands when the accidental drive-off occurred. asserted
off → speak → errands
“Monday was a tough day for a lot of reasons, and I got home and I had a busy night on the phone, and my wife and I had a discussion,” Carroll said, referencing the attack on federal MP Helen Haines. asserted
Carroll → get → Haines
“She [Carroll’s wife, Fiona] was going to return [daughter] Maddie’s friend’s pencil case. asserted
She → go → case
I said, ‘I’ll do it and I’ll get petrol’. asserted
I → say → petrol
And then I found out the following day I didn’t pay,” he said. asserted
he → find → ?
“That has since been rectified.” asserted
That → rectify → ?
As it happens, Carroll is not alone in being a politician with problems at the petrol pump. asserted
Carroll → happen → pump
“I have been contacted by the former deputy premier John Thwaites, who told me, ‘Don’t worry, Ben. asserted
who → contact → me
I didn’t pay for the petrol, and I also drove off with the nozzle in the car, with the petrol hose together’,” Carroll said. asserted
Carroll → pay → car
“And that made me feel a lot better.” asserted
me → make → ?
Mike Bush also weighed in on the petrol palaver on Wednesday, saying not every drive-off was a criminal matter. asserted
off → weigh → Wednesday
“Our point of view is that a petrol drive-off is a civil matter until it’s proven otherwise,” Bush said. asserted
Bush → prove → view
“If it turns out that it’s a criminal matter, there was intent, etc, etc, charges will follow subsequently. asserted
charges → turn → ?
But everyone’s got the opportunity to address an error.” asserted
everyone → get → error
The commissioner said he was aware that the premier had paid his outstanding debt. asserted
premier → say → debt
…and 2 more, not listed.
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