Ciara Kelly has been announced as George Hook's replacement on Newstalk's lunchtime slot, taking the reins of a new show called Lunchtime Live.

Kelly, known for being one of the health experts on Operation Transformation, will tackle a variety of topics on the new series from current affairs and politics to lifestyle and human interest stories.

“I’m very excited to be presenting Lunchtime Live on Newstalk. It’s going to be great to front a show that has real interaction with listeners, where we get stuck into issues people are talking about in their daily lives," Kelly said.

"I am lucky to have a brilliant, dynamic team behind me and we want to make fearless, fresh and compelling radio."

George Hook left his 'Right Hook' show on Newstalk following an internal investigation over comments he made on-air about rape.

The 76-year-old's remarks were made while he discussed the case of a woman (19), who alleges she was raped by a former member of the British swim team on his show on Friday September 8.

"Is there no blame to the person who puts themselves in danger?" he asked.

His comments were met with swift condemnation from the public and a number of complaints were made to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Hook issued an apology for the statement, saying: "It was wrong of me to suggest that any blame could be attributed to those victims or that they bear any responsibility in the crimes committed against them."

CEO of Communicorp Adrien Serle said Kelly will add a "great dynamic" to the station.

"We are delighted that Ciara will be presenting this new show on Newstalk’s primetime schedule. Ciara already has a strong relationship with the station and resonates well with our listeners, so we are looking forward to developing that relationship with us and our listeners through ‘Lunchtime Live’.

"Ciara is a great broadcasting talent, a straight talker and will add a great dynamic to our already strong schedule," he said.

‘Lunchtime Live’ with Ciara Kelly will commence on Monday 23rd October.

Online Editors