Terry Hansen has announced he is leaving 97.3’s popular Bianca, Terry and Bob breakfast show, citing health concerns.
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On Tuesday morning, Hansen told listeners that a health scare late last year had seen him rush to hospital with a swollen arm.
“While being examined, I answered all the health questions the way I have previously on air: put on 20kg in the last few years. A big few years for work and a tough time for our family,” Hansen told listeners.
“It rang just about every alarm bell for a middle-aged man and before you knew it, the senior doctor was down to talk to me.
“He was convinced that my arm was just swelling from a sprain but he spoke about the three pillars of a parent’s self-worth: work, family and yourself. And I told him that I had made a conscious decision to focus on the first two.”
Hansen said the doctor warned him that he was at risk of serious health problems if he didn’t take action, and he realised he wanted to improve the quality of time spent with his family.
“We have done some awesome things in the last 18 months since Bianca's arrival,” Hansen said.
“But at the end of each project, this overwhelming fatigue remains.”
The challenges of shift work and the pressures of the breakfast show prompted Hansen to approach his managers and ask to be released from his contract.
The 15-year 97.3 FM veteran said he would stay a while longer as a replacement was sought to join Bianca and Rob on air, and urged listeners to take care of themselves.
Hansen’s shock announcement comes as the year’s third GfK commercial radio ratings showed 97.3’s breakfast program had increased its share of the morning market from 11.9 per cent to 12.3 per cent.
It came in third to Nova 106.9’s breakfast program Ash, Kip and Luttsy with Susie O'Neill, on 12.6 per cent.
HIT 105’s Stav, Abby and Matt came second for breakfast figures on 12.5 per cent.
Nova 106.9 also led the lunchtime radio, claiming 13.7 per cent of the market share with an increase of 1.2 per cent from the last survey.
97.3 FM lost 0.3 per cent of their market share for the lunchtime show, down to 13.6 per cent, while Triple M dropped 0.9 per cent to 12.7 per cent.
4KQ was most popular with listeners 65 years and over, claiming 20.1 per cent of the market share with an increase of 2.7 per cent, closely followed by 4BC and ABC Brisbane.
On average Nova 106.9 showed an increase in listeners of about 1 per cent across all time slots, while 4KQ’s classic hits station also gained some ground of about 1 per cent.
ABC Radio National lost 4 per cent of its weekday evening market share for people aged 65 years and over, with 2.2 per cent of listeners switching over to 97.3’s evening programs.
