Christian O’Connell shares tribute on “dark day” for UK radio

GOLD FM‘s Christian O’Connell has shared a tribute to his friends back in the UK, who are suffering from a huge change at radio network Global Radio.

In February, Global announced that it would be swapping out its local Breakfast shows in favour of networked shows on its Capital, Heart and Smooth Networks.

The move will see 43 Breakfast shows and 24 Drive axed across the UK, and presenters began to say goodbye last week.

Christian celebrates a year on Gold104.3 Breakfast this week, but it will be bittersweet as he sees friends lose jobs back home.

He took to Twitter to extend his heartfelt condolences; “To all my friends back in the UK on a dark day for radio, I’m thinking of you all.

“I came out of the local radio system and some of my happiest times were in Bournemouth, Liverpool on local stations,” he posted.

To all my friends back in the UK on a dark day for radio, I’m thinking of you all. I came out of the local radio system and some of my happiest times were in Bournemouth, Liverpool on local stations. x

— Christian O'Connell (@OC) May 31, 2019

His mood changed when alerted to the fact that the new Heart Breakfast show was set to feature Ashley Roberts, former member of girl group the Pussycat Dolls.

Roberts will reportedly be bringing “the latest showbiz news and gossip” to the show.

“I’d rather been living on the streets than wasting people’s time on the radio with filler ‘showbiz news and gossip’,” Christian tweeted.

“That said I have no problem wasting folks time asking if they’ve stroked a monkey or falling down a manhole.”

I’d rather been living on the streets than wasting people’s time on the radio with filler ‘showbiz news and gossip’. That said I have no problem wasting folks time asking if they’ve stroked a monkey or falling down a manhole https://t.co/5vfGHNSbHD

— Christian O'Connell (@OC) June 1, 2019

Christian moved to Australia for a gig with ARN after hosting his Breakfast show on Virgin Radio (later Absolute Radio) for a decade before coming down under in 2018.