James Valentine has announced he will step away from 702 ABC Radio Sydney, bringing to a close a 25-year tenure as the voice of Afternoons and marking the end of one of the longest and most distinctive careers in Australian radio.
The broadcaster confirmed on Monday that he would not be returning to the microphone this year, saying the decision to retire had been driven by the need to prioritise his health and time with family.
His departure will be marked with a special two-hour retrospective edition of Afternoons, celebrating more than two decades of radio built on curiosity, humour and an unusually intimate relationship with listeners.
“I won’t be coming back this year to the microphone and the Afternoons program.
It’s time for me to retire.”
The remarks were delivered on air as Valentine explained the reasoning behind the decision.
“This decision has been hard for me to make but I need to focus on getting better, and being with family and friends, and making sure I’m giving my health my best shot.”
Valentine said the final broadcast would look back on the program he began presenting in 2001, alongside long-time producer Jen Fleming.
“This coming Friday, Jen Fleming, long-time producer of the program and myself want to present a retrospective; the best of Afternoons, to capture what we’ve made in those 25 years.”
Listeners have been invited to contribute memories and stories via the 702 ABC Radio Sydney Facebook page, with selected messages to be reflected during the farewell broadcast.
ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks said Valentine’s impact on the national broadcaster was both creative and enduring.
“James is one of the great creative forces in Australian broadcasting.
He 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.
We’re proud to celebrate everything he has brought to the ABC, and we wish him strength and support as he focuses on his health.”
While Valentine is most closely associated with radio, his career has spanned music, television and writing. Born in Ballarat, Victoria in 1962, he first came to prominence as a professional saxophonist, performing through the 1980s with bands including Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons, Models and Absent Friends, and later collaborating with artists such as Wendy Matthews, Kate Ceberano, Richard Clapton and Diesel.
He became a household name on ABC TV in the late 1980s as the host of The Afternoon Show, before moving across a range of television roles, including Showtime Movie News, The Mix, and narration duties on Come Dine With Me Australia.
Radio, however, became his professional home. After stints in Canberra and on Sydney Mornings, Valentine settled into Afternoons on 702 ABC Radio Sydney — then known as 2BL — developing a format that blended talkback, music and what he often described as observations of “the ordinary”. Segments such as The Rant, This Is What I Live With and Nothing at All became defining features of the program’s tone and longevity.
In 2022 and 2023, Valentine briefly moved to the Breakfast program, before returning to Afternoons. In 2024, he announced he would step away from the show to undergo treatment for oesophageal cancer, later returning to air before confirming his retirement this year.
Valentine will also step back from his ABC Jazz program Upbeat, which launched in 2020 and allowed him to continue sharing his long-standing connection to music with radio audiences.
Didn’t he host The Afternoon Show on ABC Television?
He will be greatly missed , good healing to James 💕