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One of music radio’s top names is switching the tunes for talkback –��Matt Heath��is leaving Radio Hauraki’s breakfast show to become the new co-host of ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB’s��Afternoons��programme.��

Heath – who has one of the most diverse media and entertainment CVs as a radio and TV personality, writer, producer, actor, singer, creative and commentator – will co-host the new-look��Afternoons��show with��Tyler Adams, media firm ��һ�ǿ����� announced today.��

Radio Hauraki host Matt Heath will start as new co-host on ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB's Afternoons show on Monday October 7. Photo / Jason Oxenham��

Adams has been producing the��Afternoons��show, hosted by��Simon Barnett��and��James Daniels, for several years – Barnett, who announced earlier a shift to More FM, and Daniels signed off for the final time last Friday.��

The new ZB co-hosts will start on Monday, October 7.��

An emotional Heath announced his departure from Radio Hauraki on air this morning – his move spells the end of his 11-year radio relationship with great mate and co-host��Jeremy Wells.��

“Every day you make me laugh,” a tearful Heath told Wells on air this morning.��

“You’re bloody brilliant mate. Not seeing you every day will be a huge gap in my intellectual and emotional life. Hopefully we can find some time for a few lunches at Prego in the future.”��

Wells said: “There’s not a dry eye in the house.”��

Earlier, Heath told Media Insider: “He [Jeremy Wells] was happy for me, but sad. There’s going to be a few tears.��

“We’re both sad because we’re both very, very good friends. Working with him has been such an amazing time – we’ve worked together for 10 years on this breakfast show, and we’ve never had an argument.��

“It’s always great to see him in the morning - he’s such a beautiful human being. So that’s hard to leave. It’s almost like a breakup. It’s almost like a divorce from both Jerry and Radio Hauraki. There are so many great people.”��

Matt Heath and Jeremy Wells in a Radio Hauraki publicity photo.��

But he’s also excited about the move to ZB. He acknowledges the “massive” change the new role represents.��

“It’s big. It’s a different role to what I’ve done before. There’s a lot more talking, so no songs to hide behind. I’m looking forward to having fun, but also going deeper into some issues.”��

He hadn’t been looking to move unless something as “challenging and awesome” as the new ZB role came along.��

“I’m very, very grateful being offered the chance to show people what I can do upstairs, in the rarefied air of ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB,” he said. ZB’s studios sit on the first floor at ��һ�ǿ����� in central Auckland; the entertainment stations, including Hauraki, are on the ground floor.��

Heath - who will now switch out early morning wake-ups for more sociable and family-friendly hours (he has two teenage sons) - is no stranger to the more serious side of media.��

His appetite has been whet as a regular commentator on the likes of��Heather Du Plessis-Allan’s Drive show and on ZB’s Weekend Collective. He’s also been a regular columnist for the��NZ Herald��and has this year published a top-selling book,��A Life Less Punishing.��

“There is a deeper side to me, than maybe what I do in some parts of my career, when I’m just going for the gags.”��

He would be approaching the role with an “open heart”.��

“I guess all I can be is me - the best version of me. I can’t be anyone else. The Hauraki audience has been very, very loyal, and audiences have really enjoyed the times when we’ve gone deeper.”��

Heath is currently appearing as a team captain on��Game of 2 Halves��on Sky TV and he is also a key member of the sport entertainment brand Alternative Commentary Collective.��

Those roles will continue.��

Heath also has a background in film production and was lead singer for Kiwi rock band, Deja Voodoo.��

��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB's Tyler Adams will co-host Afternoons on ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB.��

More than a dozen top names are believed to have been in the running for the ZB role.��

Heath said he was looking forward to teaming up with Adams, a “top guy”.��

Adams, who will relocate from Canterbury to Auckland for the role, has more than a decade’s experience as a senior reporter at ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB and has covered some of New Zealand’s most significant news events including Pike River and the Christchurch earthquake.��

He has also served as a producer and fill-in host for ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB��Canterbury Mornings��and as executive producer and fill-in host for ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB��Afternoons.��

“I’m super excited to team up with Matt,” says Adams.��

“I’ve admired his creativity, intelligence, and roguish sense of fun for a long time. We’re both eager to dive into the conversations that matter most to everyday Kiwis. Expect lively debates, unconventional perspectives, and, most importantly, plenty of laughs along the way. I can’t wait to bring a fresh vibe and new energy to ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB��Afternoons.”��

��һ�ǿ����� chief audio officer��Jason Winstanley��described the new combination as “fantastic”. They would bring a unique style.��

“I know Matt and Tyler will perfectly complement our talented line-up of hosts across all day parts. They are both smart, talented broadcasters and they have terrific ideas and an infectious energy, which I know our audience will enjoy.”��

A new co-host for the Hauraki breakfast would be announced in due course, said Winstanley.��

Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at ��һ�ǿ����� including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in ��һ�ǿ�����.��