Popular Vancouver radio host announces departure during emotional on-air reveal
One of Vancouver’s veteran radio hosts has announced they will soon depart from their long-running morning show on Move 103.5, but she and her co-hosting partner promise lots of fun before she is gone.
After more than 20 years, Nat Hunter of The Nat & Drew Show will be leaving in early June to move back to Ontario to be closer to family.
In an emotional on-air segment on Monday, May 25, Hunter shared that it has been a “super hard decision” that she has been considering for a while.
The Nat & Drew Show
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“I don’t know if you guys know this, but Canada is a very big country,” said Hunter in a video posted to the radio station’s social media accounts. “I’ve been going back and forth a lot lately. It is very hard to get back to family a lot. So it is the right time.
“I do want to say that this has been a very hard, hard, hard choice, because even on my worst day here, this job has been one of the best parts of my life.”
Hunter and her co-host Drew Savage first launched The Nat & Drew Show on Z95.3 in the early 2000s before moving to QMFM in 2014. The station would rebrand to Move in 2020.
Before coming to Vancouver over 20 years ago, Hunter worked in several media roles in Ontario, including being a VJ at Country Music Television and a weather anchor in Kingston.
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“I feel like I’ve got to know a lot of you guys too, like 22 plus years,” Hunter said to the listeners. “I know a lot of you guys by name, so thank you so much for choosing to wake up with us. It’s just me going, this show remains, and this show will remain incredible.”
Hunter’s last day on-air with The Nat & Drew Show is slated for Friday, June 5.
“The tagline for the show for the last couple of years has been, ‘Real Friends, Real Fun,'” said Savage to the listening audience. “And we are real friends, and we are going to have some real fun over the course of the next couple of weeks.
“We’ve got some stuff that we’re lining up. You might hear some familiar voices return. The emphasis will be on fun, because that’s why we gather here every day. And it means so much to us that you have felt like you’re having fun too.”
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The show’s third host, Erin Davis, told Hunter that she knew that this move was very important to her friend.
“Over the last couple of weeks and months, as you prepared for this, you’ve been home a little bit,” said Davis. “Just kind of checking in and getting things ready.
“You told me once that you were taking your dad to a Doctor’s appointment. And I was like, ‘Holy wow.’ I know you’ve made a lot of sacrifices to be here in Vancouver, and your family’s far away.”
Hundreds of comments filled Move 103.5’s social media posts about Hunter’s impending departure.
“I’ve followed all of you from the beginning,” said one listener. “My radio station was wherever Nat & Drew were. I’ve laughed so much listening to you, and hearing your voices always brought a smile to my face.”
“Literally yelled NO in the car this morning,” shared another. “You’ve made some boring drives better. You will be missed.”
“Nat, you’re an icon, and I’m so happy to have met you,” added a listener. “Congrats on an incredible run with the Nat and Drew Show, and I’m so happy you get to be close to family.”
The Nat & Drew Show/Facebook
Hunter thanked all the listeners for their support as well as for tuning in over the years.
“I love it here,” she added. “It’s funny, when you move from Toronto, which I moved like 22 plus years ago, people would say, ‘What do you like better, Toronto or Vancouver?’
“They’re just very different; they’re apples and oranges. And, I love Toronto. I love my family there, and the whole bit. But B.C. holds such a special place in my heart. It’s beautiful.”
The veteran radio host also teased what’s next for her in her career.
“I have accepted another job. I’ll be able to tell you more about it in a few days. But for right now, all I can say is that if you like, spices and mixes for dips at reasonable prices, I might know somebody.”