yes he does have a singsongy whiny quality to his voice - but somehow I don't find him so annoying on radio -he's filled in a few times and been ok ... but that might have been because I knew it was only very temporary! lol I can only take him in small doses ... I've tried and tried but in the end he just annoys me yet again and I give up!
I don't think Rove would tolerate him for very long ... but then both of them like to be the main attraction so it would never work.
Sam will make a good sidekick - she doesn't think she's above anyone and she's willing to learn and not afraid of making a fool of herself along the way ... the make or break with them will be whether people take to Rove after he hasn't been around for so long ... to a lot of people he's an unknown quantity .. I didn't like him when he was a reporter from Perth for one of the variety shows and mostly quite UNfunny ... but did enjoy Rove Live when working with Peter Helliar and Carrie Bickmore ... I think he needs the sidekick to bounce off and if he's picked Sam as someone he can work with it will be interesting to see how it goes