Ellie Mobbs, Beth Larsen and Jason Roses start a new Saturday morning breakfast show with hit104.7 FM last month. Photo: Supplied.
What makes anybody in their right mind get up very early on a weekend morning and go to work when the rest of the city is asleep or at least planning a nice brunch somewhere? For real estate agent and media personality Jason Roses, the answer is love – of Canberra.
Roses, who gained national attention on Big Brother, is the new face of weekend breakfast on 104.7 FM with Ellie Mobbs, also a Canberran born and bred, and Bethany Larsen, the self-confessed wild child of the trio. Together they’ve honed their skills and relationship as a team on weekend afternoons before starting the weekend breakfast gig this year.
Mobbs happily describes herself as “the old fart ” at 34 and confesses to a teenage obsession with the former 104.7 night show (from where many will remember current breakfast host Nigel Johnson under the guise of No Mates Nige and his sidekick, Line Dancing Mel).
“Those were the days when most radio was local, and they used to do a Canberra Hot 30 countdown. ‘Mobbsy from Hackett’ used to ring up every single night, try to win CDs and tell them about what was happening at school. I was probably a bit of a pest to be honest but that’s how I fell in love with radio. Eventually, they let me in the door and I’m still doing the gig,” she says.
Roses admits that media can be “a little bit addictive” although he gave himself a three-year break after the intense Big Brother experience. “I’ve always loved interacting with people, so radio is a great way to do that with the community. I’m born and bred here. I really love the city and I’ve always loved being able to make people laugh. That’s the best thing for me.”
Larsen brings the unpredictability: she says there’s no filter with her and she’s up for discussing anything, from anxiety to the rigmarole of her own (complicated-sounding) love life. Mobbs, who has custody of the dump button, says this can sometimes lead to surprising results, but all three agree that their authenticity and spontaneity is key to having great on-air connections.
Ellie says Canberra weekend mornings are all about people getting the kids to sport, meeting friends or going down the coast. The weekend breakfast team want to provide a cheerful, light-hearted accompaniment that’s deeply local.
Jason agrees that at a time when there’s plenty of bad news around, there’s nothing too much wrong with having a laugh in the car, listening to crazy stories and having fun. He’s proud of where we’re going as a community and says Canberrans are proud of the city too.
“They care about things like the great food we have now, the wonderful vibe here. Canberra is clean, it’s easy, it has such a strong sense of community. So much has changed and I can’t wait to see what the next ten years bring.”
Weekend breakfast runs between 7 am and 9 am, on hit104.7 FM.
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