In 2018, Cooney was absent for several weeks from the show, before it was later confirmed that he had parted ways with the show. Presenter Mark Cagney, who departed the programme in 2019, paid tribute to Cooney on his last show saying that Cooney "was a integral part of the band. We did not get to say goodbye to him the way we wanted to and to thank him the way we wanted to for circumstances I can't go in to here and they're not really relevant."