A fact check of five bizarre allegations against Kyle Sandiland's new TV show.

They say not to air your dirty laundry in public, but in this case, we’ll make an exception for a new prime time TV show.

That’s pretty much the premise for Network Ten’s new series Trial By Kyle, which is kicking off this week, and features radio host Kyle Sandilands hearing cases (well, mostly petty complaints) from everyday Australians and then passing down his verdict.

The series first debuted back in 2018 as part of Ten’s Pilot Week program and has now been brought back for a full season.

However, since Kyle has no kind of legal knowledge or experience, according to Ten “the only bar he’s ever passed is the one at his local pub”, The Bachelor winner and actually qualified lawyer Anna Heinrich is on-hand during the show to offer up legal advice and some occasional side-eye in Kyle’s direction.

Speaking on Mamamia’s daily entertainment podcast The Spill, qualified criminal lawyer Anna broke down exactly what’s real on the show and what’s not, answering all the allegations we had about the reality of this new show.

Listen to Anna Heinrich dish on Trial By Kyle on Mamamia’s daily entertainment podcast The Spill.

On what kind of cases we can expect to hear on Trial By Kyle:

“It’s very unpredictable,” Anna said on The Spill podcast. “All the cases are so different from one another, you’ve got drag queens fighting over stolen choreography and you’ve got a husband and wife dispute where the husband is suing his wife for stealing money and using it for Botox.

“There’s a case that I think is hilarious where the defendant put a tablet in the microwave because they thought it would charge quicker. So like an iPad tablet, and a few things are thrown across the room in that case. There are some heated friendship disputes as well and they get pretty feisty.

“I was scared. I was thinking at that time, ‘thank God I’m over here in the corner’.”

On how the whole show actually works and whether or not there is any law involved:

“I’m there to advise Kyle on what way he should go according to the law,” she said. “But a lot of the time he doesn’t listen to me, which really annoys me.

“I do criminal law but this is civil law, so there’s a slight difference there. In criminal law, the stakes are a lot higher.”

On what Kyle Sandilands, who according to Ten is “known for his celebrity feuds, straight-talking persona
and dirty mind” is really like to work with:

“That is the number one question people ask me,” Anna said. “But I had a really enjoyable time working with him. He is so fabulous and I don’t think anyone else could be put in that situation and do as well as him.

“Initially, when I heard about the show and I heard that Kyle was doing it I didn’t know how it would work, only because I’ve only ever seen Judge Judy.

“But then I saw him in action on the first day and he’s so off the cuff and so funny. I was really surprised by how lovely he was, he was very respectful to me and the people he worked with.”

On whether or not the judgments handed down on Trial By Kyle are actually legally binding:

“They do sign a contract before coming on the show and it’s binding for a certain period,” Anna said. “So it’s binding to a degree but it’s not a real court.

“I might roll my eyes at him, but at the end of the day it’s Kyle’s decision so I need to grit my teeth and not say too much… but he knows when I’m not happy with his decision.”

On whether or not the people on Trial By Kyle are actors or real people, because some of these stories sound too wild to be believable:

“These are real people and they really want their dispute resolved,” Anna confirmed on The Spill. “But it’s a different path to go down because a lot of these cases would not go to a real court.

“It was not so much a casting process as people applied for the show, most of them have come to the show because they have a real dispute. We didn’t find these people and create a story. The wilder the story is, the better.”

Trial By Kyle starts Thursday, October 24 at 8.30pm on Network Ten.

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