Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543797
The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday. com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY Where did your passion for radio start? It started back in 1992, when my grandfather had given me an FM stereo he brought from England. Back then we only had AM and medium wave. At the time, I started to listen to the new radio stations which were popping up. Radio and music became my escape. I used to sleep listening to radio and study listening to the radio. I had then found out there was a radio station not far from where I live in San Gwann, at the time called Radio 101. I used to go there with my bike. John Bundy hosted a show, and I used to just observe. It never occurred to me I could be in that seat, and pursue a career in radio. The four of you who host the breakfast show on Magic have this unique dynamic, where in my opinion you represent the country's different people. How did you bring this team together? It's a bit extraordinary when you think about it. Back in around 2012 and 2013, we had launched a "fake" production house on an upcoming project. That project would end up being the breakfast show. We had organised try-outs for applicants, and spent the day trying them out. It was myself, Terry Farrugia, Martina Zammit and Rachel Cachia, and by the end of it, no one was satisfied with what we had seen. Terry looked at Martina and Rachel, and told them to give it a try. At first it was me, Rachel and Martina. Fast-forward, and JD came into the mix, and hence Abel, JD and Martina. It was a coincidence to some extent. But there was always a vision behind the project. Another interesting thing you have is that you are not afraid to venture into areas like pol- itics; you joke about Martina being pepe, in what I feel is still a conservative society. Other hosts would not mention these topics. How do you do it, without seemingly being afraid of the repercussions? It's who we are. We are different people, and that is life. We mirror everything that happens in life. We don't take anything seriously, in the sense that if it does not need to be taken seriously, why take it seriously? The most important thing in life is to laugh. JD is the best at it. He could be passing through a very difficult time, and an hour later, or a day later, he is the best at handling it on air. I worry, but not as much as Martina. [Valentina] Rossi also handles these moments in a very professional and humane manner. These are moments that reflect life. Well and good, but have there been any repercussions? Actually, no. In the beginning when you're producing these kinds of programmes, there is a shock to the system. Immediately, people felt the programme is fluid. We have a running order, but we go with the flow. I am saying this to show that we are real people, and our audience stuck with us for this reason. You have moments where people are taken a bit a back, but people know they shouldn't take us too seriously. Let me take you a bit back. You hosted a breakfast show on Vibe FM. Around two years ago rumours circulated that the breakfast show was going to change. This was something everyone at the time was talk- ing about. Can you walk me through what happened? They were moments of big emotion for a number of reasons. We never wanted to leave, but then when one tries to solve the situation, and cannot… Two years ago, in the period you were mentioning, there were some who were trying to breakdown the chemistry; the small project we had built. At the end of the day, it was a successful project, as this ultimately is a business, and we had no option. We did what had to do to save this brand… our life. It is not something we wanted to do, but that's how it panned out. Nowadays, we see it as an evolution of what we do—the place we are at, what we are doing, the investment that has been done to take the programme to another level. That is what we always wanted to do. We are doing what we always wanted to do elsewhere. But has it come at a cost? Your children, the sacrifices that come with it… Of course. This is a big commitment. My eldest is 16-years-old, and I never took her to school in the morning. But every day we chat on video call. In the same way we have this job, there are other jobs where parents don't get to see their children in the morning. On the flip side, in the afternoon I have the time to take my children where they need to go. It is still difficult… There are people who work night shifts, everyone has their own challenges. Do you feel this responsibili- ty? We feel it immensely. I felt it most when we left the previous radio station, on the day that our last show should have aired. The number of messages we received to ask us what had happened was a lot. We even received written letters telling us we motivated them to get to work in the morning. There is a large amount of people who find it difficult to get going in the morning, and when you realise that you can make a difference, it inspires you. And we didn't realise our impact on their life until that moment, and that is a very good feeling. 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 MARCH 2026 INTERVIEW