AGE is no barrier for Peter Manfrin and David Staniforth.
The pair, both in their 60s, host 5GTR FM’s Italian show on alternate weeks.
Mr Manfrin, who is also one of four hosts on the Classical Appreciation program, said the Italian show had proved widely popular.
“A few weeks ago I was shopping at Coles and a lady who knows me through my former work said to me ‘Peter, is that you on the Italian show?'” Mr Manfrin said.
“I said ‘yes that’s me’ and she told me her sister lives at Boandik Lodge and a group of ladies sit around the radio every Sunday and listen to the show every week.”
Mr Staniforth said he introduced songs in both Italian and English as the program had attracted a broader audience.
“I always translate to English because we have quite a few listeners who don’t speak Italian, but listen because they enjoy the music,” he said.
“It’s very upbeat and we play a diverse mix of popular Italian songs and world music.”
An Italian native himself, Mr Manfrin has hosted the show since 2013 and asked Mr Staniforth to join him around 18 months ago.
“I host the Italian show and I’m one of four hosts on the Classical Appreciation program,” Mr Manfrin said.
“We try to work out a schedule so I never do both shows on the same Sunday – nearly five hours in the studio would be too much for me.
“I present the classical show with Don Currie and we like to play light classical rather than the heavy music.”
Though he speaks almost fluent French, Mr Staniforth said his Italian was “not quite fluent, though still improving”.
“I’m a member of the University of the Third Age Italian class and when Peter approached us looking for another host I took him up on the offer,” Mr Staniforth said.
“I don’t speak fluent Italian yet, but I’m learning and the show is great practice – my reading has certainly improved.
“I mostly just introduce the music, read from the Il Globo, which is an Italian newspaper in Melbourne, and I always tell at least one very corny Italian joke.”
Sunday programming was reshuffled earlier this month.
Both the Italian show and Classical Appreciation program were moved to later time slots and are now broadcast live from 11am to 2pm and 2pm to 4pm respectively.
Mr Manfrin said the move will allow listeners to “tune in after church”.
“On a Sunday morning people go to church or they visit family and they are not at home,” he said.
“In the afternoon they have more time to relax and listen to the radio.”
The new Sunday time slots commenced on September 3.
