“There was no ambush.” Laurel Edwards sets the record straight on 4BC departure

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, says Laurel Edwards.

When she, Gary Clare and Mark Hine signed on to host 4BC Breakfast two years ago, it was with the best of intentions. But as it turned out, it was the classic ‘square peg in a round hole’ scenario for the trio so loved by listeners of the now defunct music station 4KQ.

“We tried our best,” Laurel tells Radio Today. “But at end of the day, the show just wasn’t working.”

Clearly different in style to 4BC’s traditional talkback format, Laurel says “We were a fun-based music program. That’s all we’d known for decades. That’s the show we wanted to present. Unfortunately, it just didn’t fit in that environment.”

“I think we all saw it coming.”

Now, with the show due to finish up in two weeks, Laurel is setting the record straight.

Contrary to certain reports, Laurel says she Gary and Mark weren’t unceremoniously shown the door. There was no ambush. No dramatic walkouts. No kicking, screaming or being frogmarched out of the building.

Quite simply, the time was right, and Laurel has only good things to say about her 4BC colleagues.

“They were lovely people to work with, and for. But at the end of the day, it comes down to ratings.”

“We had a fantastic run at KQ. We gave this a go, but it didn’t quite work out.”

Laurel admits the growing barrage of online criticism and speculation did cut deep.

“I tried to ignore all the comments. You try not to take things personally. But we just didn’t deserve to be picked apart like that.”

“The comments were getting very personal. That hurt.”

“It also hurt that there was stuff being leaked out. That’s when you start looking sideways.”

Laurel takes issue with any suggestion that she, Gary and Mark ‘jumped ship.’

As for the clickbait headlines surrounding her recent getaway to the Maldives with her husband, country music legend Troy Cassar-Daley … Laurel says that trip was booked two years ago.

“It was just a really great time and a really great experience. But as soon as I get over there, it’s like ‘Laurel Edwards has quit.’”

Laurel says she, Gary and Mark are extremely proud of what they’ve achieved as one of the longest running, most successful teams in Australian radio. Nothing can take that away from them.

“We’ve always had each other. No matter what, we’d go in and do our show.”

But, whilst Laurel affectionately refers to Gary and Mark as her ‘work husbands,’ she says they’re all at different stages in their lives.

“We’re very proud of the fact we’ve created a good brand that’s stood the test of time.”

No longer having to set those early morning alarms opens up a whole new world of possibilities for Laurel – namely passion projects, which have absolutely nothing to do with ‘work,’ or having to get another job.

She now also has the freedom to enjoy more travel with her hubby.

“When Troy gets back from different trips, he’ll say ‘I wish we could go here, I wish we could go there … ”

“Now, I can do it.”

Whatever the future holds, Laurel’s latest social media post says it all, really:

“After 32 years of 4am alarms, I’m truly excited about switching off for a while and annoying the shit out of Troy until I find a hobby.”