KIIS FM Melbourne’s Jase Hawkins breaks down as he farewells co-host Polly ‘PJ’ Harding

Polly ‘PJ’ Harding will host her final ever show at KIIS FM Melbourne on Friday. 

And her co-host Jase Hawkins couldn’t help but become emotional as he discussed PJ’s impending departure on Thursday’s show. 

Jase, who hosted the breakfast show alongside PJ for six years, broke down in tears after a caller rang in to praise PJ for her incredible work.   

‘I just wanted to say, I’m a longtime listener, first time caller, I actually made the switch from another radio station a couple of years ago and I love you PJ and we’re really going to miss you,’ the caller gushed.

Jase began wiping away tears and sniffling as the caller continued: ‘You guys have just made my mornings. It always brightens my day. So thank you so much and I just wish you all the best.’  

Attempting to lift the mood, PJ playfully scolded Jase for becoming too emotional. 

‘Thank you… oh there’s the tears. We weren’t allowed  to say anything nice today!’ she said in mock-outrage.  

Laughing through the tears, Jase jokingly pleaded with the listener: ‘Please don’t switch back!’ 

‘I won’t! I’ll support you too Jase!’ the fan replied.  

It comes after KIIS 101.1 Melbourne finally confirmed that Lauren Phillips will officially replacing PJ on the Jase & PJ breakfast show.

The new program will now be called Jase & Lauren in the Morning, with Lauren taking the reins alongside co-host Jason ‘Jase’ Hawkins. 

The new role will see Lauren, who also presents the weather for Nine’s Weekend Today, return to Melbourne after spending much of the pandemic in Byron Bay.

She previously co-hosted KIIS 101.1’s summer breakfast show with Ryan Jon.

‘I did Summer breakfast and it sort of came from nowhere for me but then a conversation started about how much I enjoyed doing Summer breakfast and then we started chatting and I was like maybe this is going somewhere,’ Lauren said.

‘You could have seriously knocked me over with a feather when they told me what they were thinking. It’s really exciting, I’m super pumped about it.’

She will continue filming weather segments for Weekend Today, meaning she’ll effectively be working seven days a week.

Former host PJ broke down live on air in March as she announced her resignation, explaining it was ‘one of the hardest decisions’ she’d ever made.  

‘It’s not been an easy decision to make but I know for me it’s the right one and will kickstart a brand new chapter,’ she said.

‘I will miss Jase and the whole team so much, but rest assured we will definitely stay in contact as Jase is adamant to be my head bridesmaid.’

She has returned to her native New Zealand after a ‘challenging’ year which saw her ‘priorities change’ after getting engaged and losing her father.