Nath and Emma locked in for 2026 as 2DayFM backs breakfast duo through ratings slump
The announcement follows Jimmy Smith's departure.
2DayFM is doubling down on breakfast, confirming Nathan Roye and Emma Chow will return in 2026 despite a turbulent year on the Survey scoreboard and the recent departure of co-host Jimmy Smith.
Roye broke the news himself on air. “They told me, ‘Nath, keep it for a big announcement at the end,’ but I’m not very good at keeping secrets,” he told listeners. “Nath and Em for breaky; we’re back in 2026. We’re super excited for this.”
Smith exited the show last month for mental health reasons.
At the time, SCA head of hit metro content Amanda Lee said he had “made the difficult decision to step away,” adding that Roye and Chow would continue to anchor the slot through the rest of 2025.
A bruising Survey 7 and a tough run overall
The confirmation of the duo’s return landed just as fresh ratings pressure hit the network. Speaking to Mediaweek after Survey 7, SCA Head of Broadcast Content Matthew O’Reilly didn’t sugarcoat the challenge.
“Opening up the survey pack and seeing a 2.9% there is definitely rough. And I think everyone felt that way,” he told Mediaweek. “And they’re even tougher because I was in Sydney last week and seeing how hard everyone is working – that’s when it’s really tough. And that’s when you’ve just got to grind it out.”
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It’s been a difficult stretch for 2DayFM Breakfast.
The shift from a longstanding duo to a trio in January was designed to reset the show, but the ratings never stabilised as the network had hoped. Smith’s exit only intensified speculation that another format change might be imminent.
Locking in Roye and Chow for 2026 signals a bet on stability rather than another reboot in the Sydney breakfast market, giving the pair a long runway to rebuild trust and traction after a challenging year.
