The Christian O'Connell Show is a radio show, hosted by Christian O'Connell. The show was originally produced in the United Kingdom, starting as The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on a local station in Bournemouth in 1998, going national in 2001, then moving with O'Connell to Australia in 2018. Though still broadcast live as a morning show, the word "Breakfast" has been dropped from the title to reflect the various times it airs in different Australian markets.
The show broadcasts on weekdays from 6 am and 9 am across the Gold Network including Gold 104.3 in Melbourne, Gold 101.7 in Sydney on the FM band, and Gold DAB+ in Adelaide and Brisbane, as well as Gold 80s in Perth. A nightly hour of the program is broadcast from 6 pm to 7 pm on Gold 104.3 in Melbourne, Gold 101.7 in Sydney, Gold 1323 in Adelaide, Gold 96FM in Perth and 89.3 LAFM from 7 pm to 8 pm in Tasmania.
A daily podcast of the previous morning's show is also produced.
History O'Connell's started The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show in 1998, broadcast to the local Bournemouth, England market on station 2CR FM. In January 2000, the show moved to the larger, but still local, Liverpool market, on station Juice FM. O'Connell moved to London in January 2001, where the show was broadcast on XFM London. In January 2006, the show went national in the United Kingdom, broadcasting on Virgin Radio UK. In September 2008, the broadcast moved to Virgin Radio's successor station, Absolute Radio.
In February 2018, O'Connell announced he would be leaving Absolute Radio and emigrating to Australia to host the breakfast show on Gold 104.3 in Melbourne. The final UK show was broadcast on 18 May 2018.ch 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.ARN secures UK radio star Christian O'Connell for Gold 104.3 Radio Info 2 February 2018 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, ARN announced that the show will remain on Gold 104.3 until 2022.
In April 2020, ARN announced that The Christian O'Connell Show will be syndicated across the country from Monday 27 April, airing for one hour from 7 pm until 8 pm on weeknights on Gold 104.3 in Melbourne, Gold 101.7 in Sydney, 97.3 FM in Brisbane, Mix 102.3 in Adelaide and 96FM in Perth. The show is highlights from the breakfast show which airs on Gold 104.3.
in February 2022, ARN announced that The Christian O'Connell Show will be further syndicated across country Victoria and New South Wales airing from 5 pm until 6 pm on 3CS Colac, 3YBFM Warrnambool, 3HA Hamilton, 3WM Horsham, 2QN Deniliquin/Echuca, 3NE Wangaratta and Gippsland’s Gold.
In November 2023, ARN announced that it had renewed Christian O'Connell's contract until 2029.
In August 2025, ARN announced that The Christian O'Connell Show will make history in 2026 as the first Australian commercial radio breakfast program to broadcast live across Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide via the Gold Network. The show will air live on Gold 101.7 in Sydney and Gold 104.3 in Melbourne on the FM band, while listeners in Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane will be able to tune in via the DAB+ band.
Christian and the team spent the week of 15-19 December 2025 in Sydney to introduce the show to the city and listeners. The show officially started nationwide on 19 January 2026.
Team
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.
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. In October 2023, Jones won an ACRA, The Glenn Daniel Award - Best News Presenter FM.
Riordan Lee (Rio) Riordan Lee is Christian's sidekick, replacing Jack Post in 2025. He’s been part of the show’s fabric for years, having joined as a producer in January 2019, and his background spans Triple J, The Roar, and broader digital content roles.
Regular segments
At Work Timewaster: Daily, 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 Lee put forward their suggestions before O'Connell reads out submissions sent in by listeners, which Lee jokingly rates on a Gold, Silver, Bronze scale. There is also a segment in the next day's show called "At Work: Extra Time", where they read and grade out listener's suggestions that come in after the show is over. 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. Caller of the Week: Each week, usually Friday but could be any time, the team awards $1000 to a caller who had the best call in story of the week, or something that is really outstanding. 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' The Monday Morning Song Title Game: In the first hour of Monday's show, Christian picks a word and the team has to sing a song that contains that word. This segment started in August 2025. (originally called Song from a word) Things that make you go Grrrrr: On Tuesdays, the team and listeners share those little things that push you over the edge. Listeners are encouraged to call in and release the rage before they go to work. This segment started in May 2025. The segment was originally called 'Small Things, Big Rage' and was renamed in September 2025. Name Game (as in...): Starting in June 2023, on Tuesdays the team asks callers to play a name game. The prompt is "My name is _____ as in..." Listeners don't give their name, but give real world or pop culture clues to their names for the team to guess. Monday Winner/Lost (formerly Winning/Losing the Week): On Tuesdays, Christian asks the team if they're a Monday winner or loser. (Previously: Randomly in the week (usually Tuesdays or Wednesdays) Christian asks the team and listeners if they're winning/losing the week based on what they've experienced to that point.) What's the Year Again: On Tuesday, Christian pits Pats and Rio against each other for guessing the year something came out - a song, a movie, television, etc. This started up in June 2025. What Are the Odds: Inspired by a caller with a strange story in February 2024, the team invites listeners to share their stories of incredible coincidences that defy logical odds. Lost in Translation: On Wednesdays, Christian challenges the team with foreign translations of movie titles, and they guess what the original title was. This segment started in September 2025. Small Things, Big Joy: Inspired by the Tuesday Big Rage segment, listeners are invited to share the little things that really make them happy. This segment started in June 2025. Nominative Determinism: On Thursdays, Christian and the team talk to listeners who have stories of Nominative Determinism, such as a gastroenterologist called Dr Butt, or a weatherman with the last name of Rain. Originally this segment was called "Is Your Name Related To Your Business" when it started in the early days of the show. This started up again in May 2025. The People's Playlist: Every Friday, listeners pick the songs for the final hour of the show from 8am to 9am, based on a theme picked by the team. Originally this was known as The Naked Hour (which, in and of itself, started on Thursday mornings from 7-8am) Naked Hour (as a name) was retired with the exit of Jack Post, as he sang the theme song. The rebrand occurred in June 2025. Double Thumbs Up Friday: Top of the show on Friday mornings, Christian, Pats and Rio share what the best things they've watched, listened to, done, or read as a recommendation to listeners.
Podcast The best bits of the show are released as a daily podcast that runs for roughly an hour's worth of material. This started with the UK version of the show and continued when it moved to Australia. Additionally, usually two mini episodes are released that focus on a specific highlight of the show, but aren't new material separate are created. These mini-episodes are also released daily and started with the Australia version of the show. Advertisements started being inserted into the main podcast as of the return of the team from Christmas/summer break in January 2022 (prior to this, new episodes were ad-free).
After the Show Twice a month, Christian and the producers release a half hour podcast of an after show meeting, to share how they review that day's show and planning for future segments. This episode appears in the regular feed. As of February 2026, there have been no new episodes of After The Show since December 2024.
The Brightsiders Platinum Club In February 2026, the show launched its listeners’ club, created in response to the large connection the audiences developed with the program.
Members receive access to a private Facebook group, early alerts, Timewaster previews, and other exclusive content. Each member is issued a digital membership card, granted “founding member” status, and invited to choose their own membership number. Christian also sends a weekly Friday message to the group, and in‑person meet‑ups are planned as part of the community experience. To join, listeners contact the show with their preferred number and the story behind it. Additionally, it offers a behind‑the‑scenes episode.
Membership number 1 is permanently reserved for Peter Logan, a much‑loved listener who died in early 2020 following a battle with bowel cancer. Logan first contacted the show to raise awareness about screening and was invited to co‑host an episode in February 2019. His impact on O’Connell and the team was significant, and the number is held in his honour.
Competitions & Special Events
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.
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, 22 September 2019 at the Whitten Oval. This year's winner was Carmel Hine with a winning kick of 27.9 meters.