The frontrunners to replace Marty Sheargold on his Triple M Melbourne breakfast show have been revealed.
The host, 53, confirmed earlier this week he will not be returning to the morning radio slot, but will continue his podcast and national 3pm slot with the network.
He said he wanted to spend more time with his family and prioritise ‘self-care’ after a mysterious three-month absence last year following an alleged incident at the AFL Grand Final.
Now, the frontrunners to step into Sheargold’s shoes have been revealed, with predictions that Mick Molloy’s Triple M show could be broadcast in its place.
‘I think there’s a chance that Mick Molloy will be broadcast into both Melbourne and Sydney,’ Craig Bruce, an ex-radio executive who hosts the Game Changers Radio: Melbourne Radio Wars podcast, told news.com.au.
Comedian Molloy currently hosts Triple M’s Sydney breakfast show with NRL’s Mark Geyer, and it would not be the first show to mark a radio expansion into Melbourne.
KIIS FM’s Kyle And Jackie O Show branched out into Melbourne audiences earlier this year in a $200million deal that secures their position for the next 10 years.
Radio expert Bruce also theorised that Dave Hughes – who hosts Sydney’s 2Day FM breakfast show – could return to Melbourne’s airwaves to fill in the position.
The frontrunners to replace Marty Sheargold on his Triple M Melbourne breakfast show have been revealed after the host confirmed he was stepping down earlier this week
He previously co-hosted the Hughesy & Kate show, before Kate Langbroek left the program in 2019 to spend more time with her family, with Hughes moving on to host Hughesy, Ed and Erin.
The gap in the market comes after Triple M confirmed on Thursday that radio broadcaster Sheargold would not be returning to his breakfast radio show.
‘Taking an extended break at the end of last year has reinforced the importance of spending more quality time with my family,’ Sheargold said in a statement.
‘As a result, I have made the decision to prioritise self-care, maintaining a better work/life balance and will not be returning to my Triple M Breakfast show. However, I will continue The Marty Sheargold Show podcast, along with the 3-4pm national Triple M show.’
He continued: ‘I want to thank my immediate team and the network for their ongoing support and understanding. And I’d also like to thank the listeners for their loyalty to both the show and the station. Like them, I remain a Triple M fan.’
SCA Chief Content Officer, Dave Cameron, said: ‘SCA supports Marty’s decision to rebalance his personal and work commitments, and we’d like to thank Marty and his team for creating a unique and hilarious Breakfast show for Melbourne since 2021.
It has been speculated that comedian Mick Molloy’s Triple M show could be broadcast in its place. He currently hosts Triple M’s Sydney breakfast show with NRL’s Mark Geyer
‘It is exciting however that our listeners will continue to hear Marty alongside his current team of Troy Ellis, Loren Barry and Will Ralston across both the Triple M network as a national Afternoon radio show and on his fan-favourite daily podcast on LiSTNR, which regularly ranks prominently on the Australian Podcast Ranker.’
The move comes after his mysterious three-month absence last year following an alleged incident at the AFL Grand Final.
The former breakfast host took ‘personal leave’ after the alleged incident at the AFL Grand Final last year, which saw him depart at halftime.
According to reports, he was ejected by security at the MCG due to offensive comments he made to other guests.
When approached for comment, a Southern Cross Austereo spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia at the time: ‘Marty Sheargold left the AFL Grand Final at halftime of his own accord.’
Sheargold was on-air the week after the Grand Final, but disappeared just days later, prompting Anthony ‘Lehmo’ Lehmann to fill in for him.
The troubled Melbourne radio host said he went on an ‘extended break’ because he had ‘burned himself out’.
A former radio executive also predicted that Dave Hughes – who hosts Sydney’s 2Day FM breakfast show – could return to Melbourne’s airwaves to fill in the position
‘I realised I’d absolutely burned myself out over the last couple of years,’ he explained.
He went on to say he was inspired by AFL coaches Alistair Clarkson and Damien Hardwick, who both stepped away from their respective footy teams last year.
‘Two men last year who put their hands up and said, ‘I need a break.’ And I thought, ‘You know, I need a break,” Sheargold said.
‘Things are changing. I’m not doing routine this year,’ he added, to which his producer Loren Barry said: ‘You’re just doing you.’
Marty then made a bizarre quip, saying: ‘I’m going to do h****n as well. That’ll be fun, so stick around for that. Watch the wheels fall off.’
After returning to the show, some listeners branded his return to the airwaves as ‘unfunny’ and ‘nasty’ as he divided his fans.
In a Reddit thread from April, several weighed in on Sheargold’s on-air antics and offered their thoughts.
Sheargold has stepped down to spend more time with his family and prioritise ‘self-care’ after a mysterious three-month absence last year after an alleged incident at the AFL Grand Final
After his absence, some listeners branded his return to the airwaves as ‘unfunny’ and ‘nasty’ as his hosting style divided fans
‘I feel like it’s gone up a notch lately, but based on the comments other people don’t seem to think it has,’ someone else said.
‘Every joke is a d**k joke. After a while of listening you get to be tired of them,’ one more commented.
‘I feel like he used to be funny but now he just seems to insult people without there being a noticeable joke involved,’ yet another said.
‘No clue how he got his own show, he’s colour at best, not a host, carried by the rest of his crew. The man reads the headlines of the paper ffs, blokes on a mint buck, could put some effort into his segments’ said someone else.
Others disagreed however, with one chiming in: ‘It’s no different than normal. The ‘nastiness’ is part of his schtick.’
