Long time Newcastle radio presenter David Collins has passed away.

David was heard on 2HD and 2KO during his career, and was best known for his 22 year on air partnership with Tanya Wilks on KO-FM.

He was also on air with 2WS from 1978 for around 12 years. While there he befriended Parammatta NRL great, now Channel Nine commentator Peter Sterling and became his manager.

Both Peter and Tanya were at his bedside when he passed away after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer.

SCA’s Newcastle Group PD Mike Byrne paid tribute to David, telling radioinfo:
 

David Collins was one half of Australia’s longest-running radio breakfast team “David and Tanya”. Tanya recorded their final “on air break” in David’s final days… a chance to talk about how and why David emigrated to Australia in the 70’s, the early days at Sydney’s 2WS, his move to Newcastle in the 90’s and the pairing of Tanya with David.

The guys were on air together for 22 years, first working at 2HD for eight years before switching to KOFM, where they ruled the airwaves for another 14 years.

David’s passion for the craft of broadcasting was unparalleled, this was evident, even as his health deteriorated. Even in the week before he passed, he was still giving me tips, and orchestrating how KOFM would pay tribute to him.

I’ve worked with a lot of teams and duos over the years. They can be friends and mates, but these two were well beyond that. They were incredibly close. I think it’s one of the reasons why it’s the most successful breakfast duo we’ve ever seen, not just in Newcastle but in Australia.

David was an often misunderstood character. You could easily get offside with David, as I did a number of times. If you were on team David, he was incredibly kind and generous. He was also super passionate and highly opinionated. You always knew where you stood with David.

There’ll never be another David Collins.

David was a regular reader of radioinfo and often sent us stories and comments from Newcastle.

Tributes to David have been coming in from radio colleagues.

https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/longest-running-duo-radio