Many would recognise her as the social media star who takes the mickey out of the mundane, but Triple M’s new breakfast host Katie Lamb has been toiling away on radio for more than a decade.
Raking in millions of views on TikTok and amassing an Instagram following in excess of 50,000, Lamb is part of a new generation of talented creators building their audience online.
And she hopes it’ll help her attract more fans on-air.
Studying a Diploma in Broadcasting at WAAPA in 2011, the 34-year-old began her radio career at Hit 92.9 (Now Triple M) where she would eventually return.
Working the graveyard shift for several months, she then landed at Nova in 2012 presenting on weekends while carting — a form of radio editing and production — during the week.
“Carting no longer exists, so that just shows how long I’ve been in radio,” she told PerthNow.
Becoming a jack of all trades after a decade at the commercial station, Lamb was adept at presenting in the afternoons, became a panel operator for Nathan, Nat & Shaun’s long-running show, and was eventually entrusted as the station’s operations manager.
But her career pivoted following an out-of-the-blue message from a retired West Coast Eagles star.
“I had a message from Andrew Emily in my DMs on Instagram, and I was like, ‘What the hell could Andrew Emily want from me?’” she joked.
“And he said, ‘Oh, hey, Katie, give me a buzz when you’ve got a chance’. And so I just called him on my way home from work, and I actually know his wife, so it wasn’t too weird.
“He just basically said that they were looking for a new co-host on the Rush Hour at Triple M.”
After two years of going toe-to-toe with the premiership player, she was offered a role with another one.
And a much earlier start to her work day.
“It was only at the end of last year where I got the call to say, ‘We want to move you to breakfast with Xav Ellis,” she said.
“So I was really lucky to make that move.”
Lamb said the pair quickly hit it off after previously filling in for each other’s shows during the previous two years.
She believes their “immediate chemistry on air” boils down to being friends off it, with the pair known for their light-hearted take on current affairs and uniquely Perth experiences.
Lamb believes that WA listeners expect to hear locals talking about local things.
“I think that’s really important for breakfast radio,” she said.
Enjoying the perks of her new role, the presenter is already accustomed to trading barbs with celebrities and has given one iconic British comic the mantle of her favourite guest to date.
“We actually spoke to Stephen Fry recently. He was on the show Black Adder which is a really old show, but I love looking at all his YouTube clips,” she said.
“He was hilarious. He was really, really cool.”
Taking a leaf out of Fry’s book — of which he’s written many — Lamb has become very popular on screen, albeit one that typically spans 6.1 inches.
When she’s not chewing the fat on-air, she’s flexing her acting chops in satirical social media clips that have struck a chord with viewers across the globe.
Often collaborating with local talent, including the popular Kick it Forward crew, Lamb has unlocked the key to resonating with audiences through her hot takes on the shared human experience.
As well as capitalising on the cultural zeitgeist.
A 2024 clip which takes viewers behind the scenes of a hypothetical Married At First Sight match-making panel has accumulated 3.5 million views on TikTok.
And another targeting “obsessed” parallel parkers has attracted a whopping 5.7 million.
Lamb sees her online following as only a benefit to her radio career, admitting her hilarious clips are what first caught the eye of Triple M bosses.
“My social media platform really helps bring in an audience to radio and vice versa,” she said.
“If you listen to me only on the radio you might search me on social media, and then you might see that I’ve got some funny videos that you can jump on board too. It’s really helped both ways.”
The joy Lamb brings her audience is the reason she continues to put herself out there.
And she believes the skills required to succeed in radio are easily applied to other mediums.
“Most of my videos you watch, you’re like ‘Oh, yeah, that’s happened to me’, or ‘that happened to somebody I know’,” she said.
“And then just taking the p*** out of a very light-hearted situation, and I feel like that’s very radio — we’re just talking about relatable things that people listen to and can relate to.”
With footy-based chat such a hit with WA listeners, and having worked with Eagles and Dockers stars, Lamb might be destined for a life of footy banter after her recent engagement to AFLW West Coast Eagles assistant coach Martene Pearman.
And she’s finally been swayed on which club to support.
“Now by default, I’m a huge fan of the Eagles,” she joked.
Lamb’s legion of fans include nostalgic singer Anastacia, who is her go-to choice for karaoke, and Tones and I, who she says DM’s “every now and then”.
But one A-lister who the presenter has drawn inspiration from — and would consider a dream radio guest — is controversial comic Ricky Gervais.
She says his work has pushed her to consider what might come after radio.
“I would love to do stand up one day. It’s something that I think I will do in time, eventually,” she said.
“But at the moment, being on a breakfast show, I’m sort of just eating my way into this new gig at the moment, so I’m focusing on that.”
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