ARN secures UK radio star Christian O’Connell for Gold 104.3

ARN has inserted the final piece of the talent puzzle in it’s content jigsaw.

After jettisoning a proven national Drive team, Hughesy and Kate in favour of the up and coming Will and Woody and then replacing Matt & Meshel on KIIS 101.1 Breakfast with a Kiwi duo no one’s heard of in Oz, Jase and PJ now they’ve poached a Pom from the land of the lost Ashes. 

British radio DJ, TV host, writer and comedian​ Christian O’Connell is moving to Melbourne to join the Pure Gold network, hosting GOLD 104.3 Breakfast in 2018.

O’Connell replaces former GOLD 104.3 co-hosts Jo Stanley and Anthony ‘Lehmo’ Lehmann, who just days after rating as the number one breakfast show in Melbourne, were told their contracts would not be renewed. 

O’Connell is still on air at Absolute Radio in the UK, and, while he only just told his current audience that he’s leaving the UK, he didn’t say where to. He’ll be telling his audiences that he’s moving to Melbourne on today’s breakfast show (our evening). 

Best known as the host of the Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio in the UK, O’Connell is the youngest ever inductee into the UK’s Radio Academy Hall of Fame and winner of more Radio Academy Awards than any other person.

 When looking at the opportunity to move to Australia, O’Connell said he and his young family specifically chose Melbourne as the city they wanted to settle in.

“The chance to move to Melbourne was an opportunity just too good to pass up because, well, who wouldn’t want to move to the world’s most liveable city?

“My family and I chose Melbourne for the lifestyle, comedy and arts culture, and, obviously, the coffee. And the wine.

“Did I mention the wine? And I’ve also heard you get a bit more of something called ‘the sun’. The decision to leave the UK has been the hardest of my life, but we can’t wait to start this new adventure,” Christian said.

“Radio is my life, and I’m excited to bring my Breakfast show to Gold104.3, Melbourne’s strongest music station.

“I’ve always seen being on radio in the morning as a great privilege – to be someone’s mate in the morning – and I’m looking forward to bringing something fresh and new to listeners to help them kick off their day. “
 
Of this new appointment, ARN’s National Content Director Duncan Campbell said, “ARN is committed to creating the future of audio entertainment, with radio at the core, and having talent the calibre of Christian O’Connell on our network is key to our strategy.
 
“Christian’s radio show is like nothing Melbourne has heard before and this change is a bold, progressive move for ARN and the entire local industry.

 
“His sense of fun, relatable humour and quick wit will be perfect for GOLD 104.3 and Christian is regarded as being one of the best interviewers around with his radio show known for great guests including his mates Ricky Gervais, Chris Martin from Coldplay, Liam Gallagher and U2. Even the hard to please Jeremy Clarkson said “he does the best interviews in the world”.
 
“Christian joins us from Absolute Radio where, during his time with the station, he doubled his audience becoming one of the most loved broadcasters in the UK.

“He has also won more radio awards than any other broadcaster, and has pioneered a unique Breakfast show format.

“Christian has created and performed three sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Festival, is an author – including two children’s books, was a columnist for The Guardian and in addition to these elements, he is an incredible story-teller.
 
“In 2018 we have injected fresh, new personalities and energy into our stations across Australia with three other new shows, complementing the already successful #1FM and #2FM shows across our network.

“Announcing Christian’s new Breakfast show for Melbourne’s GOLD 104.3 is the final piece in our national content strategy, and is a key part of ARN’s wider strategy to re-energise our offering to Melbourne and to the Pure Gold network overall.”
 
Radioinfo will announce further details about Christian O’Connell’s Melbourne Breakfast show on GOLD 104.3 over the coming weeks.

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