Pic: Elaine McGee and David Hunter presenting their last ever Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Foyle. Pic: BBC.
It was an emotional day for Donegal journalist, Elaine McGee, as she co-presented BBC Radio Foyle’s last ever Breakfast Show.
The popular programme aired for the final time this morning after more than a decade on the airwaves.
It comes after BBC NI announced a number of Radio Foyle and Radio Ulster schedule and programme changes.
A half-hour breakfast news programme entitled The North West Today is set to replace the two-hour show from Monday.
Ms McGee, a Ballyshannon native and former Ocean FM presenter, thanked listeners “for letting us into your life”.
McGee and co-host David Hunter paid tribute to listeners as they signed off the programme for the final time.
The pair closed the show with a montage of highlights from its 13-year run before going out on Teenage Kicks by Derry punk band, The Undertones.
“Thank you, thank you. Above all thank you for listening to us, trusting us and choosing us and letting us into your life – I hope we have been a friend to you, like you have been for us,” Ms McGee added.
“I do believe the connection local radio creates with its listeners is magic.
“We may be meeting in a different way from here on in, but magic and connection like ours can’t be cut and no one can take that away and your voices will always matter here on Radio Foyle.
“We will say goodbye for now and for the last time from all the team at the BBC Radio Foyle Breakfast Show, good morning.”
Previous Breakfast Show presenters include the current BBC News NI Political Editor, Enda McClafferty, who originally hails from Downings.
BBC Northern Ireland has said that the new 30-minute morning programme would “have an exclusive focus on stories from and about the north west”.
A BBC spokesperson said they are also enhancing the BBC’s digital news coverage from the station.
The National Union Of Journalists (NUJ) have said that ten staff currently remain at risk of redundancy and are in the process of balloting their members over industrial action.
The BBC has said it expects staffing levels to remain unchanged.
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