Deb Knight’s 2GB radio Sydney replacement revealed

Deb Knight’s 2GB radio Sydney replacement has been revealed live on air. Here is all you need to know.

Veteran broadcaster Deb Knight’s 2GB Sydney radio replacement has been revealed.

Long-time colleague Michael McLaren will take over the prime timeslot from 12pm to 3pm from his Weekend Mornings program with the top rating talkback station.

McLaren has been filling in on Afternoons since Knight finished up with the show earlier this month.

Deborah Knight on air at 2GB. Supplied

“It is a massive moment,” McLaren told breakfast host Ben Fordham. “I am honoured to be doing it. There has been a rich and great legacy on 2GB for years and years on afternoons and most recently with Deb so it is big boots to fill. I am going to do my best. We are going to do traditional afternoon radio, the open line will drive it. We will be across the news but we will also be across the entertainment things. My interests are sort of a little esoteric at times – I like the history stuff so we will have plenty of that and I am told I have a dry sense of humour so I will bring that hopefully to the table as well.”

McLaren, 38, and wife Kat are parents to nearly two-year-old daughter, Natalie.

2GB Content Manager Luke Davis said: “We’re absolutely delighted to bring our listeners more of Michael McLaren in 2024. Michael’s performance over the past 12 years has been outstanding, with listeners warming to his intelligence, quick wit and knack of breaking down complex issues. His ability to cover anything from the news of the day, to travel, nostalgia, health, cars, technology and entertainment makes him the perfect companion for Afternoons.”

Michael McLaren will replace Deb Knight at 2GB. Picture: Supplied

Knight recorded her last Afternoon segment on November 17, two weeks after it was announced she was leaving the show after four years in the chair.

She is to be the new national host of Money News.

“I am stepping back as host of afternoons. I am not, however, leaving 2GB. In fact I’m taking on a new broader network role,” she said at the time. “I’ve been appointed to a new position as the new national host of Money News. I have missed too many school drop offs and pick ups over the years, I do often put work first,” she said. “So I’m very much looking forward to being able to be here a lot more for my family.”

Station executives made the decision to change the line-up after struggling ratings.

McLaren has been with 2GB since 2006 when he started as a program producer. His on-air career began in 2011 when he took on 2GB’s Weekend Overnight program before moving into Monday to Friday overnights in 2016.

This year he took on the Weekend Mornings program.

The 2GB Afternoons with Michael McLaren will premiere on January 15.