Sharp, edgy and funny – that’s how RadioLive presenter Karyn Hay described co-hosting radio with her husband Andrew Fagan. Holding court on the 7pm to 10pm weeknight slot, the pair was the station’s Jekyll and Hyde, with Andrew providing a foil to Karyn’s opinions and vice versa.
So when Andrew departed the station in April, leaving Karyn with solo talkback duties for the first time in nearly a decade, she was, needless to say, a little bit apprehensive.
“Truthfully, yes I was [nervous],” the 56-year-old tells the Weekly. “But I’m really glad I’ve done this. It really is the finishing school of journalism – a trial by fire. If you can do talkback, you can do anything!”
While talkback radio has garnered a somewhat negative reputation, Karyn says its popularity with politicians means it’s the ideal forum for speaking out.
Describing the experience as “hosting a dinner party by yourself”, Karyn has dramatically changed the format of her show, now 8pm to midnight, with experts in various fields standing in for where her livewire husband once sat. “Naturally, the dynamic is different, because it’s one person at the helm,” she explains. “You can make a joke, but no-one is laughing, or purposefully interrupting me or tripping me up, which for us was part of why it worked.”
The decision came as a surprise to loyal fans of the couple – some of whom have been following the pair since Karyn’s Radio with Pictures hosting role and Andrew’s spin as a rocker in Kiwi band The Mockers during the 1980s.
While the decision was company-driven, Karyn says it hasn’t caused animosity between her and her husband of 28 years, and both see it as an opportunity to shake up the routine. In fact, on this crisp but beautiful winter’s day, Andrew is following his number one passion – sailing – and is on the water, increasing his sea hours for a commercial launch masters qualification.
“I think you’ve just got to roll with the punches,” she says. “Change is always confronting, because you have settled yourself in one mode of operation. To look at yourself and think, ‘What is my next move in life?’ can be daunting. But it’s also liberating – you don’t want to get too settled. The older you get, it can be harder to change.”
Radio with Pictures presenter Karyn at the Sweetwaters Music Festival with the show’s director, Brent Hansen
Co-hosting radio was never something the couple set out to do. For some, the idea of working with their significant other might spell trouble, and for Karyn and Andrew, it was no different. “When I was hosting the breakfast show at Channel Z, which became KiwiFM, programme director Grant Hislop said, ‘Why don’t you bring in Andrew and you can co-host?’ I went, ‘No way!’ with several exclamation marks,” she laughs.
“We just fell into that – it was never a planned collaboration. I had always worked on my own before, and Andrew was a sailor and musician – not a broadcaster. But it worked because of the dynamic we had between us. Although, working with your partner… it can be quite revealing.”
Naturally, separating their work and home lives proved a challenge, with Karyn asserting it was “very tricky. The work has been brought home on numerous occasions – on one famous occasion, the work was booted out of the car!”
She is, of course, referring to the much-publicised incident in 2013, which occurred in the midst of the “Roast Busters” scandal. In a moment of lapsed concentration, Andrew made comments to a caller which offended her. He later apologised for the remark, explaining that Karyn had kicked him out of the car and he had arrived in the studio only minutes before going on air.
“We were discussing the scandal in the car,” she recalls, “and ended up arguing about victim blaming. It got quite heated so, you know, the usual thing… I said to him, ‘You can get out and walk then.’ Unfortunately, he called my bluff – I didn’t expect that he would really get out.”
It’s an extreme case of work following you home, but demonstrates Andrew and Karyn’s shared passion for a healthy debate. “We have totally different opinions and ways of approaching issues, as men and women do. People think if you spend a lot of time with someone, you think the same way, but it’s not true,” she adds. In that regard, while the biggest change has been losing the yin to her yang, it hasn’t changed Karyn’s desire to use her position to voice the opinions others may be afraid to express.
“Talkback doesn’t need to be a Neanderthal pastime where you just get drunk and spout off. I would rather find the solution to a problem rather than saying, ‘You’re a fool’,” Karyn tells.
“Radio can be a platform for you to express your view on how issues that affect you should be shaped. We have a lot of politicians who listen to us, so it’s an opportunity to have a a real democratic platform.”
WATCH: Karyn Hay presenting Radio With Pictures in 1982
