40 Facts About Ray Hadley

Raymond Morris Hadley was born on 27 September 1954 and is an Australian talkback radio broadcaster and a rugby league football commentator for Channel Nine.

Ray Hadley was born in 1954 and raised in a "housing commission house in Dundas Valley" Sydney but later went to live with his grandparents on an Eungai Rail farm near Stuart's Point on the mid north coast of New South Wales.

In December 2001, Hadley joined 2GB to present the weekend rugby league coverage but when fellow 2UE presenter Alan Jones moved to 2GB from 2UE in April 2002, he began presenting the morning show as well.

Ray Hadley's talkback show started in a traditional local community and state-based current affairs format but now includes federal politics.

On 19 May 2011 Ray Hadley hung up on 7 News reporter Lee Jeloscek during a phone interview.

Ray Hadley took offence that Jeloscek wanted to correct something he asserted was suggested on-air before the interview began, and Ray Hadley cut off Jeloscek mid-sentence telling his listeners: No hang on.

Ray Hadley has been credited with discovering Samoan country singer Sam Ah Chookoon aka Mr Cowboy 62 in 2019.

In November 2024, Ray Hadley announced that he would be retiring from radio after 43 years of service.

Ray Hadley has been named the best Radio Sports Broadcaster at the 'RAWARDS' for 8 out of the past 11 years, and was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday 2002 Honours List for services to rugby league and fund-raising initiatives for charitable organisations.

Ray Hadley won an accolade at the 2006 ACRAs for "Best Current Affairs Presenter".

Ray Hadley won that award again 2009 and became the first radio broadcaster to win both that award and best sports commentator.

Ray Hadley has won 20 major ACRA Radio awards since 1987.

In December 2021, Ray Hadley was added to the Sydney Cricket Ground Media Hall of Honour.

Ray Hadley made a one-off appearance on The Footy Show in 2005 in a forum to discuss brawling and antagonism between Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs supporters during a game against the Brisbane Broncos at Telstra Stadium.

Ray Hadley has appeared in TV commercials, and for 17 years was spruiking the budget menswear establishment Lowes.

In October 2011, Ray Hadley was signed up by Channel 9 to commentate on the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final match between the Wallabies and the All Blacks but was not invited to return.

Ray Hadley was one of Channel 9's main play-by-play commentators mainly commentating on Thursday and Friday night games until leaving the position at the end of the 2018.

Ray Hadley has been repeatedly censured by the ACMA for a range of offences.

In 2012, Ray Hadley threatened a protester outside 2GB's premises and later broadcast the protester's name and address on air.

The ACMA found against Ray Hadley, finding he breached privacy regulations.

In 2004, Ray Hadley was recorded in the middle of an outburst aimed at now-former 2GB news director Justin Kelly at the 2004 Athens Olympics, after Ray Hadley's call of an event at the Games was not used in a news bulletin.

In February 2013, Ray Hadley was suspended from 2GB after verbally abusing an employee, who recorded the event.

Ray Hadley responded to the suspension by contacting the station major shareholder and close friend, John Singleton, demanding to be returned to the air.

Ray Hadley's ratings dropped considerably following the release of details of the suspension.

Bowen said he rejected Ray Hadley's apology, describing his comments as "gaslighting".

Ray Hadley said he couldn't remember some of the alleged incidents involving Andrew Moore and that he would need more information to properly respond to questions put forward to him about his alleged behaviour involving Chris Bowen and Jesse Perez.

In July 2019, it was reported Bowen had commenced legal proceedings in the New South Wales District Court against Ray Hadley, relating to alleged workplace bullying.

Ray Hadley admitted on air to having received notice about Bowen commencing his legal action, and said that he had been subject to "intense public scrutiny" with the allegations made about his behaviour, and that he had already admitted to his "previous shortcomings".

Ray Hadley said his current colleagues would attest to the efforts he has made in recent years to improve his behaviour.

Ray Hadley used his radio show for the two days following the comments to launch attacks on Voss, labelling him a "grub of the highest order", a "moron", and claiming that the gulf between Ray Warren and Andrew Voss, both as commentators and as men, was immeasurable.

Voss launched legal action against Ray Hadley which was settled in 2012, with Voss receiving a financial settlement and public apology from Ray Hadley.

In July 2012 Ray Hadley branded Williams a liar in a fabricated story over a scandal involving allegations of embezzled funds at the Hills Shire.

Ray Hadley falsely claimed Williams had known about it as far back as 2008 and covered it up.

Three weeks before the trial was due to start, Hadley allegedly aggravated the defamation in a spray about another Liberal MP, Bart Bassett, and his appearance at ICAC.

On Wednesday morning Ray Hadley issued a retraction, which he delivered live to air.

Ray Hadley attacked Mrs Ahmed on air because she continued to support her husband, who had been charged with aggravated indecent assault of a 17 year old employee, and because she took out an AVO against the young victim's father.

Later in the broadcast, Ray Hadley said that if either Mr Ahmed or his "grub of a wife" still owned their shop, "they should completely and utterly be sent out of business".

Ray Hadley has two children with his former wife, Anne Marie.

Ray Hadley married Suzanne Kielty in 1994 and they had two daughters together.

In May 2014 it was revealed that Ray Hadley had unsuccessfully attempted to have Matt Parish, assistant coach of the New South Wales 2014 State of Origin team, fired from his role after Suzanne and Parish began their relationship.