Radio O'Connell's first job was as a dustman in Winchester at the age of 16 in the Christmas holidays. O'Connell started on 2CR Radio in
Bournemouth in 1998. He later moved to Juice FM in Liverpool in 2000. He formerly hosted
BBC Radio 5 Live's weekend sports game show
Fighting Talk from 2004 to 2006 and the 2013–14 season, the other presenters being BBC Football Commentator
Jonathan Pearce and
This Morning presenter
Matt Johnson. O'Connell hosted the Breakfast Show on
indie music station
XFM London from January 2001 to October 2005. While at XFM, O'Connell ran a song writing competition amongst listeners to pen an
England team anthem for
UEFA Euro 2004. The result was
Born In England, which was recorded with the assistance of acts including
Supergrass,
The Libertines and
Delays, as well as
Bernard Butler and Northern Irish actor
James Nesbitt. Released under the band name "Twisted X", the song reached Number 9 on the
UK Singles Chart. O'Connell joined the
Virgin Radio team making his first broadcast on 23 January 2006. He celebrated his 10th year at Virgin (changed in September 2008 to
Absolute) by giving his listeners free tins of food. He has performed three sold-out tours of the
International Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Festival in 2013, 2014, and 2015. He hosted the MacMillan Cancer comedy show at the London Palladium in 2016 and the Stand Up to Cancer show at the
London Palladium in November 2017. He hosted the
Q Awards between 2013 and 2017. In February 2018, O'Connell announced that he would leave Absolute Radio and emigrate to Australia to host the
Gold 104.3 breakfast programme in
Melbourne. He did his last broadcast of the UK's ''The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show'' on 18 May 2018, before starting the new show on 4 June 2018, featuring his long-running quiz "Yay or Neigh". In April 2020,
ARN announced that ''The Christian O'Connell Show'' would be syndicated across the country from 27 April, airing for one hour from 7–8 pm on weeknights on Gold 104.3 in Melbourne,
Gold 101.7 in Sydney,
KIIS 97.3 in Brisbane,
Mix 102.3 in Adelaide and
96FM in Perth. In November 2023,
ARN announced that it had renewed O'Connell's contract until 2029. In August 2025, it was announced that ''The Christian O'Connell Show'' would become Australia's first national commercial radio breakfast programme in 2026, broadcasting live across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The show airs weekdays from 6am till 9am in Melbourne on Gold 104.3, Sydney on Gold 101.7, Brisbane on Gold DAB+, Adelaide on Gold DAB+, and in Perth on Gold 80s DAB+.
Shows • ''The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show'',
2CR FM, Bournemouth (1998 – January 2000) • ''The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show'',
Juice FM, Liverpool (January 2000 – January 2001) • ''The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show'',
XFM London, (January 2001 – October 2005) • ''The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show'',
Virgin Radio, United Kingdom (January 2006 – September 2008) • ''The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show'',
Absolute Radio, United Kingdom (September 2008 – May 2018) • ''The Christian O'Connell Show'',
Gold Network,
Melbourne, Australia (June 2018 – present,
Gold 104.3 Melbourne) • (January 2026 – present, National) • ''The Christian O'Connell Show (Highlights)'',
Gold 104.3 Melbourne,
Gold 101.7 Sydney,
Cruise 1323 Adelaide and
Gold 96FM Perth. (April 2020 – present)
Notable guests , who is consistently cited by O'Connell
James Nesbitt, another friend of O'Connell's, has appeared before he moved to Virgin Radio, with a guest appearance on O'Connell's XFM show in 2004. In 2006, after ''The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show'' had switched to a national broadcast, O'Connell interviewed
Steven Seagal. Afterwards he described the interview as "the single worst thing I've ever done on radio."
David Cameron appeared on O'Connell's Absolute Radio show twice in 2009. His second appearance caused controversy when the
Conservative leader used the expletives "pissed off" (referring to the public reaction to the
expenses scandal) and (in reference to
Twitter) said "too many twits might make a twat" while on air. In November 2009, Tennant co-hosted the
Absolute Breakfast Show with O'Connell for three consecutive days. In October 2010, Tennant co-hosted with O'Connell and acted out Copacabana. In September 2011, Tennant experienced a fish-facing with a trout as well as a tennis ball challenge. Australian comedy duo
Hamish and Andy co-hosted a world-first
simulcast with O'Connell on 18 May 2012. In 2016, O'Connell and the show joined up again for a two-day competition with a race by each of their chosen listeners to win a holiday in the UK or Australia. O'Connell's listener lost.
Television O'Connell has appeared as a guest on a
BBC2 sports show with
Dickie Davies as one of the fellow guests. In 2003, O'Connell replaced
Chris Moyles on
Channel 5's
Live With... show and went on to present the trivia show "Pub Ammo" in 2004 on the same channel. On 7 August 2004, O'Connell became the second person to host the BBC Radio 5 Live show
Fighting Talk, following the departure of
Johnny Vaughan. He also appeared on BBC2's
Eggheads quiz show in 2005. In May 2006, O'Connell fronted
Sunday Service; a Sunday evening show on Sky One. In June 2006, O'Connell started
World Cuppa on
ITV4. In November 2006, he appeared on the BBC TV gameshow
The Weakest Link. O'Connell went out in the 3rd round after being voted off by his contestants. O'Connell appeared as a guest in a September 2008 episode of
Loose Women and
Ready Steady Cook to promote his book. He later appeared a second time on a Radio DJ special in mid-2009, being voted off in Round 7. In February 2010, O'Connell appeared as a presenter, commentator and interviewer for the
British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA). O'Connell returned to Radio 5 Live on Sunday mornings from September 2009, presenting ''The Christian O'Connell Solution
. From 10 January 2010, it was replaced by 7 Day Sunday''. From January 2011, he presented the Saturday morning 9:00–11:00 on Radio 5 Live, standing in for
Danny Baker. On 18 January 2015, O'Connell hosted
An Evening with Top Gear live on the official Top Gear
YouTube channel, where he interviewed
James May,
Richard Hammond, and
Jeremy Clarkson about their then-upcoming
22nd series of the show. On 17 October 2017, O'Connell took part in
The Chase. In May 2019, he made a brief cameo in the Australian sitcom
Neighbours. In 2020, O'Connell reached the third round of the BBC series
Masterchef with his dish
Cheval En Croute. == Personal life ==