![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/bb980b4b5fc3514ce41c83ed15551fccf5b8eef0612b09cc9e62a290524961f8.png\")
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April 23, 2026 \u2014 8:19am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Musician, author and ABC Sydney radio presenter James Valentine has died aged 64, after a two-year battle with cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cJames passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family, who adored him,\u201d Valentine\u2019s family said in a statement. \u201cThroughout his illness, James did it his way, which lasted all the way until the end when he made the choice to do Voluntary Assisted Dying.\u201d<\/p>\n ABC managing director Hugh Marks said in a statement announcing the news that Valentine had been \u201ca trusted companion for so many people, part of the rhythm of everyday life for generations of our Sydney audience.<\/p>\n \u201cJames brought warmth, wit, and humanity to radio as an exemplar of radio craft. His style was never about confrontation or noise \u2013 it was always about connection. James turned his patch of the Sydney airwaves into a place of companionship, and his daily presence will be deeply missed by his significant audience, and all of his colleagues at the ABC,\u201d Marks said.<\/p>\n On ABC radio Governor-General Sam Mostyn said Valentine had been recommended and approved for a Member of the Order (AM) in recent weeks and she had presented it to Valentine\u2019s children Ruby and Roy last Saturday for them to pass on to their father. She also recalled a \u201cliving wake\u201d held for Valentine earlier this year.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cHe was a beautiful human being and I hope he inspires us all to be a little better as human beings,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Fellow ABC presenter Robbie Buck said Valentine was \u201cone of the greatest\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe joyous, irrepressible & unbelievably sharp James Valentine has left us. What a wonderful human to have worked with,\u201d he posted on Blue Sky.<\/a><\/p>\n Wendy Harmer said on the platform<\/a> he was a \u201clovely, clever man. You will be so missed!\u201d<\/p>\n Valentine revealed his illness in March 2024,<\/a> telling listeners he had been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and would be taking a few months away from the studio to undergo surgery.<\/p>\n \u201cThe prognosis is that it\u2019ll be fixed, but it\u2019s a pretty dramatic fix. I know many of you have had to deal with this yourself, or had to deal with it in your family. This is hard to listen to,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cBut I felt as though I wanted to spend some time and talk to you about it, and let you know what was occurring.\u201d<\/p>\n In a piece published on the ABC website that day<\/a>, Valentine said he had first felt ill the previous December, and was diagnosed soon afterwards, but had delayed making the news public as he had only just moved back to ABC Radio Sydney\u2019s weekday afternoon slot.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s generally a jolly show, so let\u2019s have a good time there for a few months rather than shade that whole time with my disease,\u201d he wrote, adding that he expected to be away for \u201cprobably two or three months\u201d.<\/p>\n He returned to the airwaves in August 2024<\/a>, saying he was \u201cin perfect health now,\u201d although he was still undergoing treatment including regular endoscopy ultrasounds and scans to monitor whether the cancer had returned, as well as several other procedures.<\/p>\n During that show, he also discussed how he had changed treatment plans. He was originally going to receive five weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy before surgery to remove most of his oesophagus and fashion a new one by attaching the top of his stomach to his throat. Instead, he opted for a newer treatment that removed the cancer cells through surgery down his throat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe risk with a full esophagectomy is that it\u2019ll take a very long time to recover, if at all. The risk with this is that you\u2019ll recover \u2013 you\u2019ll be fine again \u2013 but we\u2019re going to have to keep a close eye for future cancer,\u201d he told this masthead after the show.<\/p>\n In June 2025, he stepped away once more, after receiving another diagnosis \u2013 omentum cancer. Then, in February, while filling in for Afternoons presenter James O\u2019Loughlin, he stepped down completely.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time for me to retire. This decision has been hard for me to make, but look, I think my health is giving me a pretty clear message that it still might be a while until I could return and resume broadcasting.\u201d<\/p>\n Born in Victoria in 1961, Valentine grew up in Ballarat, the youngest of three boys where, despite the lack of jazz in the local record store, he developed a love of the form by listening to the ABC and borrowing records from the local library.<\/p>\n He left the town to study jazz in Melbourne<\/a> and soon became a working musician, playing on Countdown with the likes of emerging pop acts Kids in the Kitchen and Pseudo Echo and touring with Joe Camilleri, Kate Ceberano and Sharon O\u2019Neill. Then he joined the Models.<\/p>\n Six months later they had a huge hit with the song Barbados and the band spent most of the next few years on the road.<\/p>\n But that constant time away didn\u2019t sit well with his then-girlfriend (later his wife) Joanne Corrigan, so he left the band and began looking around for a new career, eventually landing the role of afternoon presenter on ABC kids\u2019 TV. More TV roles followed on Good Morning Australia, Simon Townsend\u2019s TVTV and Kerri-Anne Kennerley\u2019s afternoon program, Monday to Friday.<\/p>\n Related Article By 1993, he had had enough of TV (although he would later narrate the Come Dine with Me Australia for The Lifestyle Channel and review films for Showtime, both on Foxtel) and approached Peter Wall, then manager of 702 ABC, looking for casual shifts that could hopefully lead to a full-time job. After a brief stint in Canberra, he eventually landed the 702 mornings slot, before moving to afternoons.<\/p>\n Despite departing the Models, Valentine kept his hand in musically, touring with James Valentine\u2019s Upbeat Revue. Along the way he also wrote several books, including the JumpMan science fiction trilogy for young adult readers.<\/p>\n Valentine is survived by his wife and two adult children, Ruby and Roy.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8364cfad8f31364f5eb6f198d4366292b6fe91b4.jpeg\")
James Valentine has died after a battle with cancer. James Alcock<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2227dd73e39b55c037c97acbeaf5a8257887ff4c.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Valentine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/707fd2d5f75a60171b0f9aba60f02e9f6f94c3c9.jpeg\")
Valentine (at rear, second from left) with the Models.<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776906742_991_8364cfad8f31364f5eb6f198d4366292b6fe91b4.jpeg\")
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