Ben Fordham’s 2GB breakfast show has held onto its No. 1 spot in the latest radio ratings survey.
However, on Gus Worland’s Not an Overnight Success podcast this week, Fordham, 45, revealed that he never wanted to take over Alan Jones’ coveted role as host.
Fordham said he felt ‘he wasn’t ready for it’ and went against his ‘initial gut feeling’, with his radio bosses Tom Malone and Greg Byrnes urging him to take up the gig.
Ben Fordham, 45, has revealed that he didn’t want to take over Alan Jones’ coveted role as host of 2GB’s breakfast show
Fordham began by saying how he started ‘second guessing’ himself when KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show came out on top on one of the ratings surveys in 2021.
‘I felt genuinely happy for them but I’d be lying if I didn’t have those concerns, I did have those concerns, because you start second guessing yourself and thinking, “alright, well what if this isn’t for me, maybe I’m not designed for this job, maybe I’m not up to it, maybe it was too much too soon.”‘
He recalled feeling ‘a little bit angry’ considering he said to his bosses that he ‘didn’t want to do this job’.
‘I felt like I wasn’t ready for it, I felt like it’d be better for someone else to go in to bat after Don Bradman, rather than be the poor sucker who’s sent in there in the pads and go on son do your best.’
Fordham explained on Gus Worland’s Not an Overnight Success podcast this week that he felt ‘he wasn’t ready for it’ and went against his ‘initial gut feeling’, with his radio bosses Tom Malone and Greg Byrnes urging him otherwise. Pictured: Alan Jones
Fordham said he followed the instinct of his bosses despite it going against his ‘initial gut feeling’.
‘They explained to me that they wanted me to do it, and because I respect them I agreed but because that went against my initial gut feeling, I started getting a little bit angry when things were a challenge ratings wise, because I thought, “hang on a moment, I didn’t listen to my instinct, my instinct told me no!”‘
The third ratings survey of the year, released last month, revealed Fordham’s 2GB show is still No. 1 across both AM and FM bandwidths, even after shedding listeners.
He recalled feeling ‘a little bit angry’ considering he said to his bosses that he ‘didn’t want to do this job’. ‘I felt like I wasn’t ready for it,’ he said
Fordham recorded a 15.7 per cent audience share, a decent number despite dropping 3.2 percentage points since the last survey.
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, who host the KIIS 106.5 breakfast show, gained 1.1 percentage points to finish at 12.4 per cent.
Fordham blamed the federal election for the decline in listenership, saying it was a turn-off for listeners who had grown tired of the news cycle.
Fordham said that he followed the instinct of his bosses despite it going against his ‘initial gut feeling’. Pictured with wife Jodie Speers
‘It was like watching two seagulls fighting over a hot chip,’ he told The Daily Telegraph last month.
Jones, 81, who is Australia’s most influential radio broadcaster, retired at the end of May 2020 after 35 years dominating the airwaves.
He made the shock announcement to his 2GB listeners earlier that month, telling them he had been told by doctors it was becoming detrimental to his health.
The third ratings survey of the year, released last month, revealed Fordham’s 2GB show is still No. 1 across both AM and FM bandwidths. Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson (both pictured), who host the KIIS 106.5 breakfast show, followed behind
