Television host Ernie Dingo was involved in an on-air sparring match with Kyle Sandilands this morning after he took offense at a comment about dingoes eating babies which was made before the interview kicked off.

AN outraged Ernie Dingo mauled Kyle Sandilands on air today after the shock jock made a gag about dingoes eating babies.

Dingo launched into an until-then jovial Sandilands after being insulted by a pre-interview sample of Meryl Streep saying "A dingo took my baby" from the film Evil Angels.

Well, to be fair to Kyle, he didn't actually say the line "a dingo took my baby", it featured in a promo which, let's be honest, was probably not lovingly produced by Kyle but rather someone who works in, say, the promo section of Austereo.

Still, the tale of the verbal shizzfight that followed on from Ernie taking umbrage at being linked to the death of Azaria Chamberlain is rather entertaining, in a slightly surreal way.

Dingo was appearing on the Sydney rprogram from Melbourne to promote his new Channel 7 show Outback Wildlife Rescue, which began at 7pm last Sunday.

Sources say he already had up a head of steam over the sample - then got hotter when Sandilands called his show "Outback Rescue" and said it was to air at 7pm tonight .

Dingo interrupted Sandilands as the host told a story about Jackie O rescuing the babies from the pouches of dead wombats.

My list of Sentences I Did Not Expect To Read Today is now a little bit longer thanks to the rather descriptive "Jackie O rescuing the babies from the pouches of dead wombats."

Sandilands is upbeat until Dingo interrupts:

ED: Basically Kyle I think you're a bit over the top mate.

KS: What do you mean?

ED: You do this just for the fun of it. This is a beautiful program for people to see Australian animals rather than going to the zoo, and to see what other people in the community do in regards to caring for animals. I don't think you have cared for an animal in your life mate.

KS: Oh I do I care for animals very much. Just because I make a bit of a joke you think I don't like animals.

Right. Now they're arguing over who cares for animals more? Fantastic radio!

ED: Well I like your promo - "a dingo took my baby" - that is character assasination towards me.

KS: Towards you?

ED: Your game is to sensationalise things and you're basically just a commercial w**ker.

KS: Ernie, what's your problem today?

Startling revelations there. A commercial wanker on a commercial radio station you're using to plug your show, Ernie? Well, I never.

This is my favourite bit though.

The interview degenerated further and veered into a bizarre discussion about the guilt of dingoes or not in the case of missing baby Azaria Chamberlain. Evil Angels was based on her mother Lindy's court case. Sandilands finally hung up on Dingo, calling him a "c**khead".

Perhaps, given Ernie's extreme reaction to having the word "dingo" once again publicly linked to the Azaria Chamberlain tragedy, calling him a "cockhead" and hanging up wasn't the right thing to do. Perhaps, Kyle, you should have asked him why he's so sensitive about the topic, and can he account for his whereabouts on the night of the 17th of August 1980?

MORE: Ernie takes a bit out of Kyle on air (Daily Telegraph)

Tags: au | ernie dingo | extreme wombat baby womb rescue with jackie o | fight! fight! fight! | jackie o | kyle sandilands