The Christian O'Connell Show

The Christian O'Connell Show is a multi award winning radio show, hosted by Christian O'Connell.

The Christian O'Connell Show
GenreTalk and Music
Running timeWeekdays 6am - 9am
(Gold 104.3)
Weekdays 7pm - 8pm (Nationally)
Country of origin Australia
Language(s)English
Home stationGold 104.3
Syndicates101.7 WSFM
97.3 FM
Mix 102.3
96FM
Hosted byChristian O'Connell
StarringChristian O'Connell
Jack Post
Patrina Jones
Produced byTom Martin
Beck Lewis
Bryan Madigan
Original release3 June 2018 – present
WebsiteThe Christian O'Connell Radio Show
PodcastPodcast

The show airs between 6am and 9am on weekdays on Gold 104.3 in Melbourne and between 7pm and 8pm on Gold 104.3 in Melbourne, WSFM in Sydney, 97.3 FM in Brisbane, Mix 102.3 in Adelaide and 96FM in Perth.[1] A daily podcast of the previous morning's show is also produced.

History

Previously the show has aired on the original Virgin Radio (January 2001 - October 2005) and its successor station Absolute Radio (September 2008 - May 2018) in the United Kingdom.

In February 2018, O'Connell announced he would be leaving Absolute Radio and emigrating to Australia to host the Gold 104.3 breakfast show in Melbourne.

The final UK show was broadcast on 18 May 2018.[2] The last song played on the show was "Nothing Lasts Forever" by Echo & the Bunnymen.

Christian started his new show on Melbourne's Gold 104.3 on Monday 4 June 2018.[3] The first song played on air was "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" by AC/DC.

In October 2019, Australian Radio Network announced that the show will remain on Gold 104.3 until 2022.[4]

In April 2020, Australian Radio Network announced that The Christian O'Connell Show will be syndicated across the country from Monday 27 April, airing for one hour from 7PM until 8PM on weeknights on Gold 104.3 in Melbourne, WSFM in Sydney, 97.3 FM in Brisbane, Mix 102.3 in Adelaide and 96FM in Perth.[5] The show is highlights from the breakfast show which airs on Gold 104.3.

Team

Christian O'Connell
Main article: Christian O'Connell

Christian O'Connell (born 7 April 1973) is a British radio presenter. He began presenting on 2CR in Bournemouth in 1999, moving to Juice FM in Liverpool in 2000. He later moved to the weekday breakfast show on XFM and hosting Fighting Talk on BBC Radio 5 Live. After departing xFM, O'Connell began hosting the weekday morning breakfast show on Virgin Radio, then Absolute Radio (from 2006 - 2018) and Gold 104.3 in Melbourne, Australia.

Jack Post

Jack Post (born 9 November 1987) is O'Connell's producer and sidekick. He was previously a producer and contributor to the Hamish & Andy radio show. He continues to work on the Hamish & Andy Podcast.[6]

Patrina Jones (Pats)

Patrina Jones (born 27 June) is a newsreader and regular contributor on the show. She has been the voice of Gold 104.3 breakfast news since 2012.

Regular segments
  • At Work Timewaster: Based on a news story or event from that morning's show or the previous day's show, two topics (films, bands, songs etc.) are selected and puns are encouraged fusing the two together. O'Connell and Post put forward their suggestions before O'Connell reads out submissions sent in by listeners, which Post jokingly rates on a Gold, Silver, Bronze scale
  • Late to the Party: Christian reads emails on past topics from listeners who might not have been able to chip in on something when the show was live.
  • Misheard Lyrics: A listener of the show has an excel document on his computer with over 300 song lyrics that he has different interpretations of. Christian shares them on the show 5 at a time, on Mondays, and then reads out listener contributions. Each is rated for whether they agree, don't agree, or if the Mondegreen is an 'Instant Hall of Famer'
  • Songs That Sum Up Your Weekend: On Mondays, the team shares the songs that sum up their weekend, along with why that song is appropriate.
  • Three Topic Tuesday: Listeners are invited to phone in and share an anecdote relating to one of three topics suggested by O'Connell. Originally it launched as Five Topic Tuesday (for the first *two* years of the show), but has been pared back for better focus.
  • The Wonder Year: On Wednesdays, a specific year is discussed by the team - what they were doing back then, some trivia, and then guessing songs from that year based on 1 second of the song. Then listeners get to guess a one second song, sometimes for a prize (a.k.a. The One Second Winner)
  • Are You Smarter Than Google...(baby): On Wednesdays, the team proposes questions about things they don't know about (such as 'How does Wi-Fi work?' or 'How a painkiller work?') and request listeners to call in and answer the question according to what they know (whether they are experts or not)
  • Your Weakest Claim To Fame: On Wednesdays, Christian asks listeners to share their run-ins with celebrities that are almost not worth mentioning.
  • Mount Rushmore: On Thursdays, the team starts building what they would put on a new Mount Rushmore, and invite listeners. Topics have included what breads would you nominate for Mount Rushmore, or what takeaway foods.
  • Snack Genius: Each Friday, O'Connell will take a suggestion from listeners of a perfect snack hybrid. Rules: no more than 30 second prep time, unless microwave is involved to melt something, preferably cheese, in which case, then no more than 1 minute.
  • Isolated Vocal (AKA Naked Vocal): Christian will play an isolated vocal from one of his favourite songs. The music is stripped back from the original recording and only the vocal is heard. He then plays the original song in full.

Competitions

Sing It For Melbourne

In mid-August 2018, the Global Liveability index was released from the Economist Intelligence Unit, which showed that Vienna had unseated Melbourne as the best city to live in. Christian, after conversing with the mayor, decided that Melbourne needed a song about how wonderful it is, somewhat similar to the idea of Ultravox's 1981 hit "Vienna" as he thought that was the only thing Vienna had over Melbourne. Jack Post wrote the song, with input from listeners.

The song reached #1 on the iTunes rock chart. All proceeds from the song are being donated to the Starlight Foundation. [7]

Christian O'Connell's Gran Final

Leading up to the 2018 AFL Grand Final Christian started a football competition for Melbourne Grandmas to compete in a longest kick competition. The event was held at Whitten Oval on Saturday 22 September 2018. The competition, which was entered into by more than 100 Melbourne Grans, was won by North Melbourne supporter, Bronwyn Fyfe. Her winning kick was 28.54 metres long.

The Gran Final was held again on Sunday, September 22, 2019 at the Whitten Oval. This year's winner was Carmel Hine with a winning kick of 27.9 meters.

One Last Dream

Christian asked bands to reunite and compete for the chance to play at One Electric Day with Jimmy Barnes and The Angels. The competition was won by Bungalow, a band who last performed in 1996.

Christian's $50,000 Pay Your Bills

Semi-regular segment (it comes and goes at different parts of the year). Listeners can enter on the Gold 104.3 website, for any bill and any amount, and if chosen the bill will be paid in full.

Christian's $10K Power Tower

New contest segment as of July 2020. Christian provides a subject (such as pizza toppings, or girls names that start with the letter a) and listeners have 15 seconds to name as many things as they can in that category.

Who's Calling Christian

O'Connell encourages listeners to contact celebrities and ask them to ring the show during a period of time. Originally launched on Absolute Radio, the celebrity who wins the public vote wins £10,000 for their charity, and the listener who gets them to call wins £10,000 for themselves (should a celebrity call without prompt from a listener they will get the full £20,000). The best five telephone calls are selected by the presenters and the listeners then vote for their favourite. In 2015, Maisie Williams was the winner and in 2016 Judy Murray won.

Christian relaunched this competition on Gold 104.3 in Melbourne in August 2019, with 57 celebrities calling into the show. The winner was Olivia Newton-John,[8] and her Cancer Wellness And Research Centre will receive $20,000. The listener who convinced Newton-John to call in is planning on donating $10,000 of his winnings to the same charity.

In September 2020, the next round of Who's Calling Christian launched, with 53 celebrities calling in. The winner was Ricky Gervais,[9] and the charity All Dogs Matter will receive $40,000 as the listener who convinced Gervais to call in is located in the UK, and could not receive his $20K prize due to contest restrictions in the terms & conditions. Christian also surprised the second place celebrity Shane Warne, the day after announcing Gervais as the winner, to give a $10,000 donation to an Australian charity for kids with cancer, as Christian wanted a local charity to benefit as well.[10]

    Former Team Members

    Richie Firth

    Richard Mark Firth (born 8 May 1977) was Christian's co-host in the UK. He began working at Absolute Radio when several other members of the breakfast show left for different positions elsewhere in Absolute Radio and on other stations. Richie previously worked with O’Connell at a Bournemouth radio station, where he famously was the Travel Chicken. In 2015, he and Christian competed in and won the Red Bull Soapbox Race.[11]

    Richie is married and a father of 3.

    Firth also broadcasts on Absolute 80s between 13:00 and 16:00 every weekend. Since September 2018, he has co-hosted The Absolute Radio Hometime Show with Andy Bush.

    Glenn Moore
    Main article: Glenn Moore (comedian)

    Glenn Moore (born 20 January 1989) joined the team as the sport newsreader in October 2017 after the departure of Matt Dyson. He is a stand-up comedian and film buff. He currently serves as the sport newsreader on The Dave Berry Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio.

    Margaret 'Maggie' Doyle

    Maggie from Wexford, Ireland was the sport and travel presenter on the show before moving to BBC Radio Kent. Currently she works for RTÉ.

    Andrew Bailey

    Andrew Bailey was the newsreader for Absolute Radio, reading the news for the Breakfast show. He left the show on 25 September 2015, as well as leaving his position as head of news across the Bauer network, joining Sky News to become Senior News Editor.

    Faye Carruthers

    Faye Carruthers was the sports reader and a journalist for Absolute Radio, reading the sports news for the Breakfast Show. She joined the breakfast show in June 2014 and departed in February 2017.

    Emma Jones

    Emma Jones (born 1988) was a newsreader. She currently serves as the newsreader for The Dave Berry Breakfast Show.

    Jenny Barsby

    Jenny Barsby became resident newsreader in March 2017 taking over from Matt Dyson following the departure of Faye Carruthers from the show. Her final show was on Friday 25 August 2017.

    Matt Dyson

    Matt Dyson was the resident sports reader on Absolute Radio until October 2017. He joined the station in October 2015 to become the resident newsreader after the departure of Andrew Bailey. Dyson left the Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show to join Dave Berry on the Absolute Radio Hometime show.[12] Matt also co-hosts Rock n Roll Football on Absolute Radio every Saturday with Matt Forde. He formerly worked for the now defunct XFM on the Breakfast Show. He also presents the Fantasy Premier League podcast; Gameweek. Matt is known on the show for his love of Avocado Pears and as the host of duck racing, with his catch phrase "release the ducks".[13] [14] He currently serves as the co-host of The Dave Berry Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio.

    Past segments
    • Richie Firth: Did He Really Say That?!: A listener referred to as The Samnster puts together a top 10 list of odd and ludicrous things Firth has said on the show over the week, which O'Connell counts down on a Friday. The Sammster has now released a top 100 of Firth's sayings from the breakfast show, prior to the show ending.
    • Jack Post: Did He Really Say That?: A listener called The Sammster in the U.K. provides a Top 10 list of the strange things co-host Jack Post has said during the week, which Christian counts down on Fridays. This is fairly identical to the version that was done in the UK with co-host Richie Firth. Sammster retired from providing this list to the show.
    • Radio Times TV Schedule bingo game: Richie hosts a game around the Radio Times TV listings from years gone by, but from the same date as the current week. Richie reads the day of the week, time and synopsi [sic] of the show for the team to guess.
    • Celebrity Interviews: Various famous celebrities have called the show over the years. When celebrities are unavailable, interviews are occasionally conducted with impressionist Alex Lowe.
    • The Vegas Hour: Between 6 am and 7 am, topics are discussed that will not be talked about after 7 am. These are often odd or risque subjects.
    • The Mug Emails: Listeners email the show with amusing anecdotes relating to the subjects being discussed by the presenters. O'Connell then reads out a selection of these emails on air throughout the show. If both O'Connell and Firth deem an anecdote to be funny enough, the sender will receive a 'Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show Mug' as a prize.
    • Hitler's Toilet: A daily feature on the show at 6.50am in which Firth reads out a comical, offbeat or vulgar news story, usually from a tabloid newspaper, which is then scrutinised by the presenters. The feature began when Firth once read out a news story about Adolf Hitler's toilet being sold at auction. This then led to a regular segment containing stories that would be considered as newsworthy as Hitler's toilet being sold at auction. Stories often feature obscure 'Top Tens', tales of animals mating or previously unheard of research from 'respected' universities. The feature formerly had a heavy bias towards stories about oversized rodents, escaped big cats and Kim Jong-Un. This segment now features on the Absolute Radio Hometime Show.
    • Buzz List: Things the presenters are interested in at the moment, such as a book, app, TV show or life hack. Each member of the show gives their buzz list, followed by the listeners.
    • Brian's Fantasy Guest: Brian Murphy cut together an interview with a celebrity from their 'canon of work'. This feature was often sabotaged by O'Connell.
    • The Early Morning Game: A game is devised around a listeners job with a theme tune composed by Richie such as Kit Bingo, or a game devised around guessing which fish a fishmonger has slapped his colleague around the face with by the sound of the smack.
    • Would you rather...: Two hypothetical statements are given and the team must pick one, such as would you rather be stuck in a lift with a clown or a badger.
    • Doc Hollywood: The title of a movie is made up and O'Connell has to come up with the plot and actors.
    • Phone Buckaroo: Listeners guess how long O'Connell can keep telephone psychics and sex lines talking about inane and irrelevant subjects.
    • Kettle Classics
    • The People Carrier of Doom
    • First Friday
    • The Diamante Lounge: A members club for listeners that has discounts such as 5% off at Ormskirk Arials. Membership is limited to three new members a day. Entrance to the Diamante Lounge is across a drawbridge and through a beaded curtain.
    • Snack Genius: Three recipes a week are sent in for Firth to taste and declare them to be either 'snack genius' or 'snack hell'; a casting vote may be given by Christian if necessary. The recipes often contain odd combinations of food which go together surprisingly well.
    • The 40 List: O'Connell attempts to tick off items on a list he wrote at the age of 13 of things he wished to accomplish before turning 40. The list includes thirteen items, such as date Kelly Le Brock, kick in Darth Vader, have an amazing splurge gun party like Bugsy Malone, and do what Ferris Bueller did when he skived off.
    • Guess what's in the box: Firth walked 5 minutes from the studio to buy an item that he has placed in a box- only Firth knows what it is. Listeners call in every Friday and ask a "yes or no" question before guessing what they think is in the box. With each wrong answer the "prize pot" goes up by 99p. Each week Firth shakes the box, controversially he changed the box on 30 March 2015 to exclude the "extraneous rattle". After two months of incorrect guesses, the feature was abandoned by O'Connell. Firth revealed on the show in January 2018 that the item in the box was a bag of iced gems.
    • Bus Stop: Firth would go to various bus stops around the studio and ask members of the public, unaware they were being recorded; "what you doing?" and "where you going?".
    • Show in numbers: At the end of every show Firth would summarise each show in numbers.
    • Reasons to be cheerful: The members of the team offer up their reasons to be cheerful and then open it up to the listeners.
    • Starting Eleven: Every Monday the team picked a football starting eleven, normally in the 4-4-2 formation, of a new subject. For example; sweets, quiz show hosts, guitarists.
    • Midweek Scores: On a Wednesday each presenter gives an assessment of their week with a score as if it was halftime during a football match, giving a reason for the score. Listeners then send in their own responses.
    • Name game, "as in...": Listeners are invited to call in if they have a name that if they say it people always say the same thing back to them, for example "Hello my name is Chris Martin" and the response would be "as in Coldplay?". A caller will come on the line and say their full name and then Firth and O'Connell will buzz in and guess what people normally say to them when they say their name.
    • Dear Aliens: An item is discussed each week with the decided best thing in that category being the thing offered up to Aliens. Categories included: dips, TV shows, takeaways, chocolate bars.
    • Win or Lose your Weekend (Monday Scores): On Monday mornings, the team goes over the little wins they had over the weekend, and then listeners are invited to share their wins/losses.
    • Put It In A Decade, Baby: Jack Post lists either movies, songs, books, birthdates or events and the caller has to put them into the correct decade. They have to score 4 out of 5 correctly to win, though O'Connell often gives the contestant the prize regardless.
    • Facebook Marketplace Price Is Right: Christian finds tat that people are selling on Facebook Marketplace and has Jack and Pats guess the asking price on each item, similar to the gameplay in Price Is Right.
    • Fine Pay Friday: Listeners are invited to phone in and share their fine with O'Connell and he will pay it off.
    • All Request Friday: Each Friday, O'Connell will play song requests from listeners throughout the show.
    • Beat the Boss: An employee and their boss are invited to answer random trivia questions. The one with the most correct answers wins: if the employee wins, they get the rest of the day off immediately; the boss gets 20 seconds of free air time to promote their business should they win.
    • Dave's Amazing Historical Facts: On Wednesdays, a listener named Dave calls in and shares the history of various things (Handshakes, chopsticks, and why you drive on a particular side of the road are examples of what's been covered)
    • Make us say WOW: Listeners are invited to call in on Wednesdays with a story that will make all 3 presenters (Christian, Jack, and Patrina) say WOW.
    • Midweek Mixed Tape: Listeners are invited to phone in and help O'Connell build the most epic playlist ever.
    • The Footie Report: Shane Crawford comes in once a week to discuss the weekend matches and state of the game.
    • OTT Radio: Christian and the team would discuss topics requested by the listeners.
    • The Missing Link: Once a month on Fridays, the music team picks 6 songs with a connection, and the listeners and presenters have to guess what the link is.
    • Two Thumbs Up Friday: The team gives their weekly recommendations of what they're into. (Similar to the Buzz List feature originally on the UK show)
    • Anonymous Confessions: On Fridays, Christian reads texts from listeners about things they're confessing to. The team also prints out confessions that Christian reads. Once they're all read, Jack will shred them.
    • Knock Off Friday: Listeners are invited to phone in and share what they're starting their weekend, and what they're going to do. Christian, Pats, and Jack also share what they're doing too.

    Awards

    Sony Radio Academy
    Year Award Entry Result
    2003 Best UK Breakfast Show of the Year The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show Gold
    2004 UK DJ of the Year Christian O'Connell Gold
    2005 Entertainment Award The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show Gold
    National Breakfast Show of the Year The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show Gold
    Best Competition The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show Gold
    2006 Sports show Fighting Talk Gold
    2007 Best Competition Who's Calling Christian? Gold
    2010 Best Competition Who's Calling Christian Gold
    2013 Music Radio Personality of the Year Christian O'Connell Gold
    Best Use of Branded Content The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show Gold
    2014 Best Use of Branded Content The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show Gold

    Other Awards
    • 2011 The Arqiva/Triple A Media Commercial Radio National Breakfast Show of the Year
    • 2013 Commercial Radio Roll of Honour Award 2013 Celebrating 40 years of commercial radio. Award for one of the industry’s most significant talents
    • 2014 Youngest Ever DJ Inducted into the UK Radio Academy Hall of Fame
    • 2014 Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards National Presenter of The Year
    • 2014 Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards Gold Winner - Best UK National Breakfast show of The Year
    • 2014 Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards Gold Winner - Best Feature Award the 40 List
    • 2014 Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards Gold Special Achievement Award
    • 2015 Red Bull Soapbox Challenge World Champions
    • 2016 Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards Gold Winner - Best UK National Breakfast Show
    • 2017 ARIAS Gold Winner - Best Music Presenter (Breakfast)
    • 2017 ARIAS Gold Winner - Best Branded Content or Partnership (Wickes)

    References
    1. http://www.gold1043.com.au/shows/christian-oconnell/
    2. Lindsay, Jessia (4 May 2018). "When does Christian O'Connell leave Absolute Radio?". Metro.ch
    3. ARN secures UK radio star Christian O'Connell for Gold 104.3 Radio Info 2 February 2018
    4. Network, Australian Radio. "ARN | ARN Extends Contracts with Breakfast Talent". Australian Radio Network. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
    5. Blackiston, Hannah (21 April 2020). "ARN's Christian O'Connell to host national radio show". Mumbrella. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
    6. "Hamish & Andy talk 2018, confirm no more radio... for now - Mediaweek". mediaweek.com.au. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
    7. "Sing It For Melbourne is #1 on iTunes". RadioInfo. 4 September 2018.
    8. https://twitter.com/gold1043/status/1165789561500270592
    9. https://twitter.com/gold1043/status/1307805486083796992
    10. https://twitter.com/gold1043/status/1308203105415172096
    11. "OC and Richie win Red Bull Soapbox Race". RadioToday. RadioToday. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    12. https://absoluteradio.co.uk/presenters/dave-berry-85/
    13. http://radiotoday.co.uk/2015/09/matt-dyson-joins-absolute-radio-breakfast/
    14. https://audioboom.com/channel/gameweek
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