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Sydney radio host Ray Hadley has announced he’s stepping back from his top-rating show.
Hadley, 70, delivered the news on 2GB radio on Thursday morning, ending his remarkable 43-year career.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Iconic radio host Ray Hadley quits 2GB radio program.
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“I’ve achieved far more than I ever thought I would,” he said.
Hadley said he wished to spend more time with his wife Sophie Baird and his four children.
“My own four children made many sacrifices for me over the years, allowing me to realise my ambitions, and I want to spend more time with them and my seven grandchildren,” he said on air.
Iconic radio host Ray Hadley has announced he’s stepping back from his top-rating show. Credit: 2GB“Sophie has been the most supporting, calming, loving and amazing wife and she deserves a break too!”
“It’s been a hell of a ride, from a young bloke wanting to call the races, to being the old bloke sitting in this studio for so long,” he continued.
“But the time has come for someone else to do the job.
“Back in September, I turned 70 and started to think how long have I got left on this Earth, and do I want to keep getting up at 3.30 in the morning,” he said.
“At social events, I’m always the first out the door. I don’t want to be the first out the door anymore.”
He said he first broached the conversation of stepping back while in Paris for the Olympic Games.
December 13 will be his final show.
The announcement came as a surprise given Hadley signed a two-and-a-half year contract extension in May 2023 that would have seen him on the radio until 2026.
Ray Hadley and Sophie Baird attend the ACRA Awards 2024. Credit: Don Arnold/WireImageIn 2017, he was inducted into the ACRA Hall of Fame. Hadley is the most awarded broadcaster in the history of the ACRAs.
Hadley’s career started in an unexpected way when he was working as a taxi driver and picked up 2UE news director Mark Collier.
After impressing Collier, he joined the station full-time in 1983 and stayed for two decades.
Moving to 2GB in 2001, he first began broadcasting during the breakfast slot until Alan Jones’ arrival in March 2002.
He has won his Sydney timeslot since 2004, and his show is broadcast across 30 nationwide stations.
Throughout his career, Hadley has won 33 Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), recognising his work across sports, news and current affairs.
Among those awards, he has been recognised for work covering NRL grand finals and Olympic Games.
His 33 award record has cemented him as the most awarded broadcaster in ACRA history.
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