The Christian O’Connell Show has celebrated five years on-air after taking the number one spot in survey three of Melbourne’s FM Breakfast radio ratings for the 24th consecutive survey.
O’Connell thanked his co-hosts, Jack Post and Patrina Jones, for their support to the show over the years and his dedicated audience.
“It’s been, for me, a tremendous and incredibly exciting five years…” O’Connell said of his time with the Gold 104.3 show.
“For me, when I look back about who I was when I got here, that feels like ten Christian’s ago…We’re changing, you’re shedding skins, and you are growing. You only get to grow through challenges and trials.
“The last five years have been the hardest of my life, but I’m telling you now, in the same way, I’ve never enjoyed my life or radio more than since moving here.”
O’Connell, who moved from the UK to Australia in 2018, shared: “It’s hard not to take it personally when every day you are getting messages going, ‘go home…no one invited you.’”
“It’s a show actually that from day one, everyone around us was like, ‘you won’t last, it won’t work. They won’t like you. It wasn’t meant to be.’ I found the newspaper article from the day before we started [that said] Act of Faith.
“This show would not be here five years later without everyone who’s come along to listen to the show, to be part of the show. So as much as it is our mini birthday, actually everyone who has listened to the show or recommended us to friends, hopefully you take some joy that we are still here enjoying it as well,” O’Connell added.
The Christian O’Connell Show (l-r) Jack Post, Christian O’Connell and Patrina (Patsy) Jones
Post paid tribute to O’Connell and celebrated their five years. He said: “I thought when you first mentioned the kids you were talking about us because I actually felt like a kid when I joined the show and now, I feel like an adult. Having been through so much, Bianca and I had a kid, and you know really grow up.
“When I joined the show, coming from Hamish & Andy, which we just got away with so much being such a successful show in Australian radio then I kicked my feet up on the desk here day one and I really didn’t know what was in store for us at all.”
For Jones, she highlighted her growth both professionally and personally. She said: “I’ve been doing this for 34-35 years. I feel like this show is what I’ve been working my whole career for. I think this is where I’ve always meant to be. I feel it’s some sort of coming age for me.”
“I’ve said to you before Christian, before you came, I feel like I was ready to leave radio and I was going to go into PR. I thought I’ve done everything, I’m not going to break into content, and I think this was as good as it gets for me, and I need to be happy with that. That’s where I was in the headspace.
“I just came through cancer, and I thought I needed to be grateful for the career I’ve had. I’ve never, touch wood, been sacked in radio, which is really rare, and I thought I needed to be grateful. You came along and turned everything upside down on its head.”
“What I love most about you [Christian] is how you’ve challenged me, which is exactly what I needed,” she said.
“You pushed me to the brink, I mean that in an adoring way. You can’t possibly project forward and improve without being challenged and you do that. You are the best mentor Christian,” Jones added.
See also: Why Christian O’Connell has had “the most exciting four years” of his life
See also: Can Melbourne cope with hearing a Pom on the radio? Welcome to The Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show
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Top image: Christian O’Connell