Manchester’s Hits Radio reveal new breakfast host will be Fleur East

After the departure of Hits Radio’s entire breakfast show team last month, bosses have now revealed the new line-up at the Manchester-based station.

And it will be former X Factor star Fleur East taking over from Gemma Atkinson, Gethin Jones and Dave Vitty for the new-look breakfast show which launches on Friday, July 12th.

Fleur will be joined in the studio by award-winning comedian and presenter Greg Burns and  MTV presenter and comedian James Barr broadcasting live from Manchester on weekday mornings.

Fleur shot to fame as a finalist on The X Factor in 2014 before launching a music-career with huge debut single ‘Sax’, which garnered over 110 million streams on Spotify and 75 million plays on YouTube.

She re-captured the public’s hearts all over again when appearing as a contestant on last year’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and has since featured as a regular presenter on ITV’s This Morning.  She also recently married her Marcel Badiane-Robin in a fairytale wedding which featured in Hello magazine.

Fellow host Greg Burns is an award-winning comedian and presenter who has held long-running Drivetime shows on both Heart and Capital FM, as well as a successful show on Virgin Radio. After returning from Australia where he hosted a national morning show for the last two years, the radio star is back to entertain UK audiences. James Barr is an MTV presenter and comedian who co-hosts one of the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ comedy award-winning podcasts, and is taking his first solo show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer.

Hits Radio bosses said the three hosts will be regularly joined by some of the biggest names in entertainment and music when the show launches on Friday 12th July.

Speaking ahead of the first show Fleur East said: “We’re buzzing with excitement to launch this new show and be a morning companion for so many people around the UK. There will be early starts, but Breakfast Radio has the power to brighten up any morning, and we’re all about bringing that fun and positive energy.”

As well the Breakfast Show, Fleur and her co-hosts can look forward to being a part of the Hits Radio Live arena events that bring together some of music’s hottest artists. The events have featured stand-out performances from Little Mix, George Ezra, Ellie Goulding, Lewis Capaldi and many others, with the next event scheduled at Manchester Arena for November 17th.

The new breakfast team has been confirmed by Hits Radio, formerly Key 103, amid a switch up at the station with presenter Sarah Jane Crawford appointed to present afternoons on the station, in addition to hosting The UK Chart Show every Sunday. Rising star Jordan Lee has been signed up as evening host, while Gemma Atkinson and Wes Butters are set to launch a new Drivetime show in the New Year when she returns from maternity leave.

It was announced last month that the Gemma, Gethin and Dave show was coming to an end after just a year on the airwaves – with Gemma heading off to have her first baby before returning to Hits next year, while Gethin and Dave have left the station to pursue other projects.

Hits Radio was launched exactly a year ago as Manchester’s first national radio station, replacing the former Key 103 brand that had been a mainstay in the city for over 30 years.

Hits Radio can be heard on DAB digital radio across the UK, on FM in Manchester, on mobile apps, smart speakers and at hitsradio.co.uk