KEY POINTS:
Rising star Noelle McCarthy says she was forced to quit her late-night talkback hosting role with top-rating Newstalk ZB because the hours were taking a toll on her health.
A frequent face on television programmes such as TVNZ's Frontseat and Sugar Shack and Prime's Out of the Question, the lively commentator with the enchanting Irish accent left Newstalk ZB's demanding midnight-to-dawn hosting role at the end of last month.
"It was just unsustainable," McCarthy said.
"I worked ... midnight to dawn, four nights a week, and by the end of it I just wasn't feeling great about myself. My health was suffering.
"People can do it, I know it's possible to do shift work, but I just think I'm not one of those people. I have great respect for people who are."
After taking on the role at the beginning of the year, she soon realised she could not sleep for long during the day.
"I would finish at 6am, come home and sleep four or five hours, wake up at 10am or 11am, and have a day - or try to have a day - and then maybe take a nap in the evening.
"So I would never really come out of a day with more than five hours' sleep. You're not yourself when you're not sleeping properly."
McCarthy said she grew attached to the "unusual breed" of early-morning callers during her time in the role.
"The biggest factor for me was that they were an older audience, so I had to work very hard to connect with them when I took over. The first two months were extremely challenging - that's when I was attempting to build an audience."
Newstalk ZB operations manager Peter Everitt said McCarthy had been released from her contract with no animosity. She was a talented broadcaster and the station was sad to see her go.
In her five months in the job, McCarthy had won over some of the "constituency", Mr Everitt said. "I don't doubt that over the long term she would have won everyone over."
McCarthy has meetings lined up with Radio Network bosses next week and is also keen to explore more opportunities in television.
