Shock jock Dean Blundell's morning show cancelled

Corus Entertainment offices in Toronto on Monday, August 15, 2011. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim)

Dean Blundell's fans were left without their daily dose of the Toronto shock jock Tuesday, a day after Corus Radio announced his morning show has officially been cancelled.

Instead, listeners who tuned in to 102.1 FM in Toronto on Tuesday heard swing announcer Adam Ricard hosting in the morning time slot.

The announcement Blundell's show was officially cancelled came in a short statement posted on the website of 102.1 the Edge on Monday.

"With the start of the new year, Corus Radio will be taking 102.1 the Edge in a new direction in 2014," general manager Dave Farough said in the brief statement that promised a more music-based format in the future.

"The Dean Blundell Show has been cancelled, effective January 6, 2014," Farough wrote.

Blundell's morning show was suspended early last month, in the wake of controversy over on-air comments about homosexuals.

The remarks centred on a trial for which Blundell show co-host and producer Derek Welsman had served as foreman of a jury that found a man guilty in the sexual assaults of three men he met at a bathhouse.

On air, Welsman and others made fun of the circumstances of the case in remarks that even suggested the perpetrator might have reason to look forward to prison showers.

A judge has already rejected calls for an inquiry into the case, though the matter may yet be heard at the Court of Appeal.

Blundell's show frequently courted controversy including last year, when the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council found a discussion of homosexuality and wrestling had breached its code of ethics.

In a tweet Monday, Dean Blundell was unapologetic as he bid his fans farewell.

"Truly love you all," he tweeted in a message with the hashtag #wherestheremote. "The last 13 years been the greatest time of my life. #thankful for all of you."

On Tuesday, fill-in host Ricard made it clear he expects to bear the brunt of anger from Blundell's disappointed fans.

"Fully anticipated getting hammered today on social media but the Edge listeners have once again been nothing but awesome to me. Thanks guys," Ricard tweeted.

As for the Edge 102.1's morning show lineup, the station is telling fans to, "Stay tuned as details of the new morning show are announced in the coming weeks."