Kiss announces Tom Green and Daisy Maskell as new breakfast show hosts - BBC News
Tom Green and Daisy Maskell will replace Rickie, Melvin and Charlie, who are leaving to join Radio 1.
Tom Green and Daisy Maskell have been announced as the new hosts of the Kiss breakfast show.

It follows the departure of Rickie, Melvin and Charlie, who announced last month they would be leaving the station to join Radio 1.

Tom, 24, is the current host of the 7-11pm evening show on Kiss, while 4Music presenter Daisy, 21, is a newcomer to the station.

The pair will host their first show on Wednesday 2 January.

Tyler West will take over the evening show - which the station said will incorporate listeners' interests in music, fashion, YouTube and sport.

Tom and Daisy may not be household names, but Kiss has form when it comes to using its flagship breakfast show to develop new talent.

Despite honing their presenting skills on BBC Radio 1Xtra, Rickie and Melvin were relatively unknown when they started on Kiss in 2007.

But, along with Charlie, who joined them two years later, they built up a strong following among listeners and their show became the UK's most listened-to breakfast programme on commercial radio.

Tom and Daisy, who are both in their early twenties, will be well-placed to keep the station sounding young as they try to bring in a new generation to the Kiss breakfast show.

Pressure on them to maintain healthy audience figures will be high, but it's worth bearing in mind Kiss generally focuses on music, rather than big-named personalities, as its main selling point.

The news rounds off a year of significant schedule changes in the radio industry, with Radio 1, Radio 2 and now Kiss all making changes to their biggest programmes.

However, with streaming services and social media competing for young people's time, the question will be whether youth-focused radio can still find a large audience.

Tom Green welcomed Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus to his evening show on Kiss last week

In a joint statement, Tom and Daisy described hosting the breakfast show as "the best job in the world".

"I think our listeners will understand when we say we'll be living our best lives - getting to chat to some of our favourite celebs and playing the best new tunes every day. It's a dream come true," they added.

Daisy, who is from north London, has previously hosted 4Music's Trending Live, where she interviewed Jason Derulo and Zara Larsson.

Andy Roberts, the group programme director for the Kiss Network said: "Tom and Daisy have a genuine connection to the things our audience love the most, as well as a unique ability to make everyone feel like their best mate."

Rickie, Melvin and Charlie are set to take over the Radio 1 evening slot formerly occupied by Charlie Sloth, who announced earlier this year he was leaving the station to "seek a new challenge".

He ended up leaving his show The 8th earlier than expected, after he was criticised for storming the stage at an industry event to say he should have won an award instead of Edith Bowman.

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