Eddie McGuire and Luke Darcy are departing breakfast radio on their terms after 11 years
Rumours have been swirling for months that the Hot Breakfast pairing had turned cold. But how did Eddie McGuire and Luke Darcy’s 11-year partnership end?
Confidential
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The signs that Eddie McGuire was going to make a captain’s call were there a few months ago.
He and Luke Darcy jointly took the helm of Triple M’s Hot Breakfast this year after Wil Anderson’s departure. And it ignited some intrigue about their futures which only grew stronger as the year went on.
McGuire told the Herald Sun in January that he didn’t worry about declining ratings because the show was aiming at specific demographics.
He also said: “Breakfast radio is a tough caper”.
And doing it for 11 years is no mean feat. He and Darcy made their start together alongside Mieke Buchan and Tony Moclair.
In 2008 both 3AW and SEN were vying for McGuire’s services after he returned to Melbourne from Sydney following his exit from the Nine CEO job.
He signed with Triple M on a mooted million dollar salary and it wasn’t long before the show indeed became Melbourne’s no. 1 FM breakfast show. Those were the high flying days with comedian Mick Molloy as the third wheel.
But this year there’s been much to ponder.
Both McGuire and Darcy lost a parent during the COVID-19 crisis and tensions rose over the lockdown situation.
Darcy’s strong-minded interview with Premier Daniel Andrews highlighted their differences of opinion, but it also showed how professional they were to continue with a hard nosed and news focused edition each day.
Listeners responded and the ratings spiked.
It emerged the duo were also out of contract which upped the ante. And the Herald Sun revealed there was strong speculation about former Nova drive host Marty Sheargold joining Triple M.
McGuire wouldn’t be drawn on the future and in the end they announced their departure their way on Wednesday morning.
An outpouring of emotions followed from callers and also from the reflective hosts.
As McGuire said, many people have reassessed their lives during the pandemic and he was one of them.
He said his wife Carla joked that she married him for dinner not lunch.
The future is bright for both McGuire and Darcy who are entrenched in media roles.
They leave amicably and with reputations intact. The big difference now, and also for the radio breakfast show landscape is that after November 27 their days will no longer kick off with a 4am alarm.
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