KEY POINTS:
Leaning forward into the microphone, Mike Hosking signs off his first week as permanent host of Newstalk ZB's breakfast show.
"As fun as this is, it must come to an end, and I'll be back again next week."
He seems comfortable, happy and part of the team, but one media commentator who tuned in this week claimed Hosking, 43, was "playing it too safe".
It can't be easy filling the void left when Paul Holmes stepped aside in December.
But if Hosking is nervous, he's not letting on. In fact, it's the 3.30am starts that are giving him more trouble than the show.
"Monday, being the first day, was fine and exciting, but on Tuesday I felt like absolute bollocks," he said.
"By the time Wednesday came around something came right and I felt normal again, and the rest of the week has been great."
Hosking also denied he was feeling under pressure.
"I think the whole idea is that if you feel the pressure it will affect your performance, but if you just have fun, it shows."
Media commentators were initially wary of the change, with Holmes hitting his best ratings when he stepped down.
Newstalk ZB boss Bill Francis said it was important Hosking built his reputation slowly.
"This is now his show, and we don't want him running at full speed on day one.
"I'm very impressed with his first week but there's plenty more to come. We didn't want to pull out all our tricks at once."
Francis said ratings may fluctuate but said he wouldn't know until tracking began in February.
