According to 99.5StarFM’s website “Amber and Billows are Sunraysia’s spunkiest breakfast duo.”
“Amber’s the girl next door, born and raised right here in Mildura, and Billows is the weird neighbour from the Mallee that you try to avoid. Together they’ll entertain, amuse and embarrass themselves – just for you.”
But what happens when they are not together?
Normally it’s common practice for breakfast show talent to take a break at the same time but Amber’s been left to hold the fort while Billows takes extended leave overseas.
Is she missing him?
“Billows and I are great friends on and off air. The day he left for his holiday I wanted to tell him something, but he was on a 16-hour flight to America.
“We have a similar sense of humour, so I guess the thing I’m missing most while he’s away are our silly conversations,” says Amber.
The duo has been on-air together for the past two years and Amber admits doing a solo show is definitely different.
“Billows and I both have had plenty of experience doing solo shows, and I understand the importance of interacting with listeners. We’ve been working on ideas to keep Billows still involved in the show, such as social media and we’re running a promotion to coincide with the fact that I’m at work and he’s overseas.
“Thankfully our Star FM workday announcer, Silco, is joining me for a couple of hours a shift – as well as then doing his own show. What a legend!” says Amber.
With Billows away (and they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder) what does Amber admire most?
“… his friendship. From the day we started working together, we just clicked.
“He gives me the freedom to run a break and vice versa. On air we have that trust in each other to produce a good break and as a team it’s important to have a ‘safe space’ to throw around ideas for promos or segments without judgment in order to collaborate and create some really great ideas.”
Surely there must also be things about Billows that annoy Amber. After much thought she says, “… well sometimes he goes all ‘big brother’ and I’m like ‘I’ll do what I want and he’ll totally agree with that.”
Well we will find out.
radioinfo has tracked Billows down in America and we’ll get his version of working on the show next week.
In the meantime,…
“This holiday is something that Billows has been saving and working towards for a while, and it’s deserved.
“Plus when he returns I’ll be taking a 3-week holiday to the USA too, so he’ll have to hold the fort while I’m away.”
And how does Amber think they’ll go when they are finally back in the studio again?
“I think when we are both back from our overseas adventures, we will quickly fall back into a nice groove.
“As exciting as our holidays are we are really keen to start working on the show together again and create engaging radio for our listeners.” says Amber.
