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Veteran radio presenter Christian O’Connell has encountered a significant setback in the ratings, just three months after launching his Gold FM breakfast show in Sydney. This development follows a major shake-up last year when his top-rated Melbourne breakfast show was extended to Sydney at the start of 2026.
The expansion into Sydney came at the cost of veteran hosts Amanda Keller and Brendan ‘Jonesy’ Jones, who were moved from their long-standing Sydney breakfast slot to the 3-6 pm drive time. This change marked the end of Jonesy and Amanda’s two-decade reign over the morning airwaves in Sydney.
While the seasoned duo has adapted to their new afternoon time slot, the Sydney audience has been less receptive to O’Connell’s arrival. The transition has not been as smooth as anticipated, reflecting in the ratings that have not met expectations.
After a major shake-up last year, the British radio star’s top-rating Gold FM Melbourne breakfast show was networked into Sydney for the start of 2026.
This move pushed veteran hosts Amanda Keller and Brendan ‘Jonesy’ Jones, who had run the Sydney breakfast show for 20 years, into the 3-6pm drive slot.
But while Jonesy and Amanda adjusted, Sydney listeners have been less forgiving.
In the first ratings round of the year (Jan 18–Feb 28), Gold FM’s Sydney breakfast share plunged from 9.7 per cent to 6.1 per cent, a steep drop of 3.6 points.
The Christian O’Connell Show now ranks fourth on the FM dial behind the recently axed Kyle and Jackie O Show (12.7), Smooth FM (10.1) and Nova’s Ricki-Lee and Tim (8.4).
Veteran radio presenter Christian O’Connell has suffered a brutal ratings blow, just three months after his Gold FM breakfast show debuted in Sydney
Industry insiders had expected some audience loss after the breakfast shake-up, but few predicted such a severe hit.
Although Christian, 52, will no longer face competition from KIIS FM’s recently axed Kyle and Jackie O Show, he will now go head-to-head with whatever program the station launches in its place.
Christian’s troubles extend to Melbourne, where his long-held number one FM spot has also been dethroned.
His audience share dropped 0.4 points to 10.6 per cent, allowing Nova’s Jase and Lauren to surge past him to 11.1 per cent.
However, the English-born presenter has a proven track record of winning over sceptical listeners.
When he arrived in Australia in 2018, he was unknown in Melbourne, yet within 18 months his show claimed the top spot.
With Sydney’s breakfast audience now in flux and Gold FM taking a gamble on a networked show, the question is whether Christian can rebuild momentum.
For almost 12 years, Christian was the breakfast host on Absolute Radio in the UK, winning awards and entertaining millions of listeners.
The Christian O’Connell Show now ranks fourth on the FM dial behind the recently axed Kyle and Jackie O Show (12.7), Smooth FM (10.1) and Nova’s Ricki-Lee and Tim (8.4)
He stunned those listeners when in 2018, at the peak of his presenting powers, he upped sticks with his wife Sarah and their children and moved to Australia.
His audience had no inkling that he had suffered a breakdown, a series of panic attacks so bad they sometimes left him unable to go on air.
The radio star previously revealed he had been hiding a crippling secret for years – he suffered from anxiety, panic attacks and breakdowns.
Dealing with it made him realise just how long his mental health had been a part of his life, he told Andy Coulson’s Crisis, What Crisis? podcast.
‘I can probably see that anxiety was around in my life in my nervous system as a teenager, but in the ’80s that word hadn’t been invented. You were told just to stop being so sensitive and man up,’ he said.
