ABC Radio Sydney presenter dies aged 64 after cancer battle
Musician, author and ABC Sydney radio presenter James Valentine has died aged 64 after a two-year battle with cancer.
ABC chief executive Hugh Marks released a statement saying Valentine was “a trusted friend to so many people, part of the rhythm of daily life for generations of our Sydney viewers”.
“James brought warmth, intelligence and humanity to radio, exemplifying the art of radio. His style was never about confrontation or noise; it was always about connection. James transformed some of the Sydney airwaves into a fellowship space and his daily presence will be deeply missed by his significant audience and all his colleagues at the ABC,” Marks said.
Fellow ABC host Robbie Buck said Valentine was “one of the best.”
“The hilarious, irrepressible and incredibly sharp James Valentine has passed away. What a wonderful person we worked with,” he said. Published on Blue Sky
Wendy Harmer he said on the platform he was “a lovely, intelligent man. You will be sorely missed!”
Valentine announced his illness in March 2024, telling listeners that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and would be away from the studio for several months to undergo surgery.
“The prognosis is that this will get better, but it’s a pretty dramatic fix. I know many of you have had to deal with this, either on your own or in your family. It’s hard to listen to,” he said at the time. “But I just felt like I wanted to spend some time and talk to you about it and tell you what was going on.”
One piece released on the ABC website that dayValentine said he first felt ill last December and was diagnosed soon after, but delayed announcing the news publicly because he had just returned to ABC Radio Sydney’s weekday afternoon show.
“Generally a cheerful show, so let’s have a good time there for a few months rather than marring the whole time with my illness,” he wrote, adding that he expected to be away for “probably two or three months.”
He returned to the airwaves in August 2024, saying that his “health is now excellent,” but he was still undergoing treatment, including regular endoscopy ultrasounds and scans to monitor whether the cancer had returned, as well as several other procedures.
During this show, he also talked about how he changed his treatment plans. He would initially undergo five weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy before surgery to create a new esophagus by removing a large portion of his esophagus and gluing the upper part of his stomach to his throat. Instead, he opted for a newer treatment that removes cancer cells through surgery from his throat.
“The risk of a full esophagectomy is that it takes a very long time to heal, if at all. The risk with that is that you get better – you get well again – but we’re going to have to be careful about future cancer,” he told this imprint after the show.
In June 2025, he retired once again after receiving another diagnosis: omental cancer. Later in February, when filling out applications afternoons Presenter James O’Loughlin has resigned altogether.
“It’s time for me to retire. It’s been a tough decision for me to make, but look, I think my health is sending me a pretty clear message that there might still be some time before I can come back and continue broadcasting.”
Born in Victoria in 1961, Valentine grew up in Ballarat, the youngest of three boys; He developed his love of the form by listening to ABC and borrowing records from the local library, despite the lack of jazz at the local record store.
He left the city to study jazz in Melbourne and soon became a working musician; He has played on Countdown with emerging pop groups such as Kids in the Kitchen and Pseudo Echo, and toured with Joe Camilleri, Kate Ceberano and Sharon O’Neill. He later joined the Models.
Six months later they had a big hit with the song Barbados and the band spent most of the next few years on the road.
But this constant away time didn’t sit well with his then-girlfriend (later wife) Joanne Corrigan, so she left the group and began looking for a new career, eventually landing the role of afternoon host on ABC children’s TV. More TV roles followed Good morning AustraliaSimon Townsend TVTV and Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s afternoon show, Monday to Friday.
By 1993 he had had enough of television (although he would later recount the incident). Come Dine With Me Australia He worked for The Lifestyle Channel and reviewed films for Showtime (both on Foxtel) and approached Peter Wall, then the manager of 702 ABC, looking for temporary shifts that he hoped might lead to a full-time job. After a brief stay in Canberra, eventually landed in range 702 in the mornings before moving on to afternoons.
Despite his departure from modeling, Valentine kept his hand in musically by touring with James Valentine’s Upbeat Revue. Meanwhile, he also wrote many books. Jumping Man Science fiction trilogy for young adult readers.
Valentine is survived by his wife and two adult children, Ruby and Roy.
Chris Hook is Sydney Cultural News Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
