Sandilands axed from 'Australian Idol'

Kyle Sandilands has been axed as a judge on music reality show Australian Idol after the rape scandal on his radio show last week.

The DJ and his co-host Jackie O caused nationwide outrage when they hooked a 14-year-old rape victim up to a lie detector and quizzed her about her sex life, live on their 2DayFM breakfast slot.

Network Ten released a statement saying: "Australian Idol is very much a family programme and its appeal is very much right across the board and we'd like to think that all families can enjoy the programme in front of the TV."

It continued: "We thank Kyle for his contribution... but it has become increasingly clear that as Idol has remained a family focused show, his radio persona has taken on a more controversial position over this period which is not in the interest of the show."

Sandilands will still appear in the audition episodes which have already been recorded, but guest judges will take his place for the rest of the series.