’He’s like my big brother’

A DECADE ago Peter “Spida” Everitt walked into the then GoldFM studios at Southport with no idea what he was getting himself into.

The former St Kilda, Hawthorn and Sydney Swans AFL player, who retired from footy in 2008, was confronted with red-haired and boisterous Bridget Daley and veteran radio star Richard Fowler.

He had signed to Southern Cross Austereo, swapping training camps to be up before dawn and live on breakfast airwaves weekdays.

Asked how he and “Bridge” would be celebrating their decade-long on-air partnership – Fowler left the show in 2016 – while coronavirus restrictions limit their partying, Spida grinned and said: “I think we’ll do something later on in the year.”

Spida admits he “walked in with no radio experience at all” but thankfully Bridge took him under her wing.

“He didn’t have any (radio) experience and I didn’t really know him,” Bridge told the Bulletin.

“I pieced it together and thought ‘I get it, this is a boy who has only ever done footy and worked with blokes’.

“Really early on I said ‘OK, I know what we have to do – you need to treat me like a sister and everything will work out fine’.”

Bridge said Spida was quick to take on the role of a big brother in a “big way”, adding even her father now saw him as a son.

“When I was single (Spida) used to come over with a head torch at 3.30am and fix my fence so the dogs wouldn’t get out when I was at work,” she said. “That also means, as my big brother, he’s always happy to stir me up.

“Over the past 10 years, we (got to) know absolutely everything about each other.

“It’s funny when we’re in public, it’s like we’re married. We can finish each other’s sentences.”

Seven months ago, the station rebranded from GoldFM to Triple M Gold Coast but the pair’s relationship remains the same.

“It’s a good milestone. It’s a funny little industry. You can last one (year) or you can last 10,” Spida said.

“Even though we’ve had a couple of different anchors and bosses throughout the time, I think Bridge is really easy to work with.

“Thanks (Bridge) for not only being an on-air wife but a good friend as well.”

Bridge had a message for Spida, saying: “Thanks for being the big brother I’ve never had. I always say you’re so lucky to work with me. (There are) so many chicks out there in radio that are such high maintenance.”

THANKS FOR BEING THE BIG BROTHER I’VE NEVER HAD. I ALWAYS SAY YOU’RE SO LUCKY TO WORK WITH ME.

TRIPLE M’S BRIDGET DALEY