James Valentine to take over microphone on ABC breakfast radio

Long-time TV and radio presenter James Valentine is well placed to take on market leader 2GB’s Ben Fordham in the breakfast radio ratings.

James Valentine will take over the microphone on ABC breakfast radio when Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck finish up at the end of the year.

Valentine is well placed to give market leader Ben Fordham at 2GB some competition in the competitive radio ratings with the latest survey results showing Harmer and Buck trailing behind the talkback host with a 15.7 per cent share compared to his 18.8 per cent.

Long time television and radio presenter Valentine moves into the prime spot from the ABC afternoon shift.

New ABC breakfast host James Valentine.

Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck finish up at the end of the year. Source: Supplied

“When I first worked at the station in the mid-90s, it was Clive Robertson, then Phil Clarke, with Andrew Olle on afterwards,” Valentine said. “Angela Catterns, Adam Spencer, Wendy and Robbie – that’s a legacy to build on and I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity.”

He continued: “I’ve loved presenting afternoons over the past 20 plus years and I know I’m going to love doing breakfast. It’s a completely different time of the day, so it will be completely different radio. I can’t wait to have a shot at talking with Sydney at the start of each day.”

The AM dial has benefited from listeners tuning in to talkback and news coverage through the pandemic.

The shake-up comes at a time when Sydneysiders are planning to return to some sort of normalcy as restrictions start to ease. The question from a ratings perspective will be whether or not FM stations are boosted as commuters return to normal work life.

2GB radio host Ben Fordham in his Sydney studio. John Feder/The Australian.

Valentine’s breakfast gig starts on December 13 with fill-in presenter Josh Szeps moving to afternoons on the station.

“I’m deliriously excited to be handed the keys to my very own show,” Szeps said. “I’ve been a fan of James Valentine’s since I was a kid and the afternoon shift has huge potential for innovation — I see it as a playground to continue creating radio that’s fresh, exciting, unusual, smart and provocative. It’ll also be nice not getting up at 4.00am to impersonate Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck. I’ll still do that, naturally, but from the comfort of my boudoir with my cat.”

Cassie McCullagh will continue in the mornings shift while Richard Glover is in drive, Sarah Macdonald in evenings, Indira Naidoo and Philip Clark presenting Night Life and Simon Marnie on weekends.

“We have a very strong line up of presenters with a great depth of experience, so we were always going to recruit from within,” ABC Radio Sydney manager Melanie Withnall said. “Our presenters for next year are well-known and well-loved and are all capable of delivering entertaining, informing and at times, surprising content.”