Brisbane radio presenter Laurel Edwards has set the record straight over her shock exit from her popular 4BC breakfast show amid falling ratings.
The station announced on Friday afternoon that it would be dropping long-serving trio Laurel, Gary Clare and Mark Hine from the coveted breakfast slot to take a “new direction.”
Laurel, 57, then took to Instagram later that day to break her silence on the news, but insisted there was “no kicking or screaming” involved in the trio’s exit.
She shares a series of images showing Laurel and her two “work husbands” joking around in front of the camera during her time on air as she paid tribute to her show.
Laurel also confirmed her final 4BC breakfast show will air on Friday 27 September and admitted her departure was “bittersweet”.
“Hi everyone, it’s a bittersweet day,” Laurel began her post. “I’m sad that Laurel, Gary and Mark’s breakfast show will be ending on 4BC in two weeks.”
Laurel, who has been a familiar voice on Brisbane’s airwaves for three decades, added that the departure was amicable and not an “unceremonious ambush”.
Brisbane radio presenter Laurel Edwards has set the record straight over her shock exit from her popular 4BC breakfast show amid falling ratings.
The station announced on Friday it was axing Laurel, Gary Clare and Mark Hine from the coveted breakfast slot, but Laurel has now insisted her exit was “amicable”.
“There was no kicking or shouting, no forced marches or dramatic strikes,” he continued.
Continuing her farewell, Laurel said she was “extremely proud” of what the trio had accomplished at various stations during their 30 years together on the air.
“I will miss spending every weekday with my two wonderful work husbands, Gary and Mark, and genuinely laughing every morning,” she wrote.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved as one of the longest-running and most successful teams on Australian radio and we’re still having fun.”
As she said goodbye, Laurel joked that she would find a new hobby to fill the void, as well as annoy her husband of 28 years, Troy Cassar-Daley.
“After 32 years of 4am alarms, I’m really excited to unplug for a while and bug Troy until he finds a hobby.”
The post was met with an outpouring of well wishes from fans and media colleagues amid her major career move.
Laurel, 57, took to Instagram on Friday to break her silence on the news, but insisted there was “no kicking or screaming” involved in the trio’s exit.
Fellow radio host Amanda Keller chimed in: “You’re amazing! Whatever you choose to do, all or nothing or anything in between, I’ll be there!!!” xxx
While Amanda’s co-host on WSFM 101.7, Brendan Jones, also added his best wishes, recalling a “great night” he spent with Laurel.
“Your turn, Laurel! I always remember when I first started at ARN and we had one of those ‘boot camps’ that consultants loved so much. At dinner the night before, I was told, ‘Tonight’s not a big night, we’ve paid this consultant a lot of money, we’re going to get an early start,'” she wrote.
‘As we staggered back to the hotel at 4am from the pub, you looked at me and said, “Well, it’s early and at least we’re awake.” Legend!!’
The trio, household names in the Sunshine State, were introduced to great fanfare in 2022 when the station switched to a classic hits format on the morning show.
Saying goodbye, Laurel said she would now find a hobby to fill the void, other than annoying her husband of 28 years, Troy Cassar-Daley.
They scored an impressive 11.8 per cent audience share – and third place – in their debut on the hotly contested morning radio show in the Queensland capital.
But the decision to move the station away from traditional talk in favour of “light entertainment” – in stark contrast to its successful sister stations 2GB in Sydney, 3AW in Melbourne and 6PR in Perth – has alienated listeners and ultimately proved a disaster.
Ratings have been in sharp decline, with his show finishing a humiliatingly last in the latest poll, with an alarming 4.3 percent audience share.
Nine Radio’s head of content Greg Byrnes said on Friday afternoon that the network had “decided to take a new approach to breakfast”.
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