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February 2, 2026 \u2014 2:48pm<\/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 ABC Sydney radio presenter James Valentine has retired from the broadcaster as he continues to battle cancer, saying it was time for a fresh host to \u201chave a go at this marvellous shift\u201d in the afternoons.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to go,\u201d he told the station\u2019s listeners in a pre-recorded segment on Monday afternoon, after almost four decades with the ABC and 25 years on the Afternoons program.<\/p>\n The veteran broadcaster, who has been off-air for six months battling cancer, returned to the airwaves on Monday during fill-in host James O\u2019Loughlin\u2019s show.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s James Valentine here back in Afternoons, how comfy that feels. Look, I do have an announcement to make, and it\u2019s sad news. It\u2019s definitely sad for me,\u201d Valentine said.<\/p>\n Related Article \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 Valentine first told listeners of his oesophageal cancer diagnosis in early 2024<\/a>, taking an extended leave of absence for surgery.<\/p>\n He made a recovery and was back on air in August<\/a> that year, but one year later, he announced another break of three months after a second cancer diagnosis \u2013 omentum cancer \u2013 in June.<\/p>\n The omentum, which Valentine told listeners to Google, is a small part of the body below the stomach.<\/p>\n He has been off-air since, undergoing both immunotherapy treatment and chemotherapy. Recovery could take another year, Valentine said.<\/p>\n Valentine said it was time for someone else to host the program. \u201cCome and have a go at this marvellous shift and do what you can with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n ABC managing director Hugh Marks praised Valentine as one of \u201cthe great creative forces in Australian broadcasting\u201d and wished him the best with his recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has an extraordinary gift for turning everyday moments into joyful, smart and surprising radio, and the connection he has built with his audience over decades simply cannot be overstated,\u201d Marks said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re proud to celebrate everything he has brought to the ABC, and we wish him strength and support as he focuses on his health.\u201d<\/p>\n Valentine first appeared on the ABC TV in the 1980s, presenting children\u2019s television before joining ABC Radio Canberra and later ABC Radio Sydney in the Mornings slot. In 2001, he moved to Afternoons, where he stayed until a two-year stint as Breakfast host in 2022. He returned to the Afternoons slot in 2024.<\/p>\n The ABC said Valentine would also step back from his jazz program Upbeat. A tribute show, James Valentine Afternoons: Retrospective will be aired this Friday at 12.30pm.<\/p>\n The ABC hasn\u2019t appointed a permanent replacement, but James O\u2019Loghlin, who has been presenting the show since June, will remain on air in the interim.<\/p>\n The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/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![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/34db75eecba3858e12fe2a03b9de03cce0b998e5.jpeg\")
The ABC has lost one of its longest-serving radio hosts in James Valentine, who has retired.James Alcock<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2227dd73e39b55c037c97acbeaf5a8257887ff4c.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Calum](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770017053_504_ed13c528ff29429d0a4267821595c52ca2cdc4cc.png\")
Calum Jaspan<\/a> is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"February 2, 2026 \u2014 2:48pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,341],"class_list":["post-448734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}