Channel Ten Sacks Kyle Sandilands from "Australian Idol" Judging Panel

There’ll be one less regular judge on the Australian Idol panel this year, following the sacking of controversial shock jock Kyle Sandilands today.

Channel Ten dumped the radio star today, following the fallout from last week’s awkward lie-detector stunt with a rape victim.

Ten declared that Kyle did not fit with the program’s family-friendly image, and would no longer be a part of the reality TV program. Given that the new series starts on Sunday it’s obviously too late to find a replacement. Instead, they plan to employ celebrity guest judges.

Honestly, I think it’s a good move all round. This ridiculous stunt is just the latest in a long-line of tastelessness from the crew at 2DayFM. They may not have known their teen guest was a rape victim, but surely quizzing a minor about her sex life would raise red flags amongst most of us. Channel Ten has got some real momentum with families following Masterchef, and they’d be crazy to stuff that up.

So far as Idol goes, I’ve never been a massive fan of Kyle’s judging style which seems more about praising the pretty girls and mainstream popettes than finding any real industry movers and shakers. Something tells me we’re not going to feel his loss too greatly.