The woman that many partygoers know as DJ Delicious behind the decks at 237 or heard as Dannii from Star 106.3FM laughed as she shared her father’s vision for her to either work on a plane or become an Irish dancer.

She was ready to entertain and captivate either way.

McMurrich has always dived head first into new experiences whether that be cheerleading for the Newcastle Knights, sitting in a boardroom, or even studying a presenting program at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) despite almost walking away from it.

“I have a big fear of public speaking,” the radio presenter says.

“I was really naive and was like ‘that looks like a really good public speaking course’ and I ended up going down and there were hundreds of people trying out.

“I was terrified, I was going to walk away but I noticed the man who was taking the auditions was Gerry Sont, he was the man I used to watch on Play School as a kid, so there was comfort in seeing the host of Play School there and I was like ‘ok I’m going to stay now’.”

While the powerhouse reflected on a successful career, and expressed her gratitude for the people who have helped her reach her goals – there was one thing she was thinking of changing.

McMurrich shared how DJ Delicious came to be, which was in a moment at 18 where a mentor asked ‘so what’s your stage name?’ and she had yet to come up with one.

“He said ‘DJ Delicious is pretty cool’ and I was like, ‘that’ll do’ and then it was on a poster and then I was DJ Delicious for the rest of my life,” she said.

“I brought this up with Peking Duk last week and they said ‘no it’s cool now because it’s so outrageous’.

“I’ve released some CDs with Sony under that name and I feel like there’s no going back.”

From the get go, Danielle knew she was in a male dominated industry but credits the people around her for having her back.

“In a male orientated field especially when I first started that was really tough … because I was playing a genre too where there were hardly any females, a lot of females were playing dance and high energy. I decided I wanted to play RnB and Hip Hop.

The former Breakfast Radio host has much to boast about after playing at concerts for the likes of Lady Gaga and Beyonce – but when asked what her favourite event was that she’s been involved in, she immediately said that helping an animal shelter on the brink of closure by raising money for it to remain open, was one that held a special place in her heart.

McMurrich’s love for animals stemmed from an early age having grown up on a farm near Dubbo in a town with a population of 42 – and she admitted she didn’t have her eyes set on the media or music industry.

“My mum always thought I was such a wallflower,” she said.

“She was like, worried about me sometimes because I was so quiet. I went to a really remote school and a lot of the time we were there, I was on a big farm so on a Murray Gray cow farm and a Reno sheep farm. I think that’s why I never thought I’d do anything like this because I hadn’t been around a lot of people.”

She used her first year in Townsville to find her footing and it’s safe to say the popular presenter has done just that.

“Last year felt like a rebuilding year for me,” she shared.

“You know finding my feet with a new radio show and moving into a new house and doing it by myself.

“I had a partner when I first moved here but long distance didn’t work out so I went through a break up you know, and then changed shows.”

McMurrich was part of the Star Breakfast Show with her former co-host Jack and has in recent months launched a new show from 9am – 1pm on the same station, but with a twist of getting to DJ live on air.

“I really love working here at Star, the people here are really good. I’ve probably met some more lifetime mates here too,” she said.

“(Community) is what I really like about Townsville. I’ve had some incidents that have happened, like a lot of people here and I felt supported through all of those.”

Her focus now?

“To make my 9 to 1 slot a success,” she said.

“The radio station is trying something that has never been done before, so for me this is a huge opportunity that I’m grateful for and I don’t want to let anyone down.”