Moya Farrell talks family, on-air mistakes, and the moment that made her weep on air

In the new year, listeners will no longer hear the familiar voice of Moya Farrell on C100 FM during their commute to work.

Earlier last week, Farrell announced her departure after 25 years of working on the C100 morning show.

Farrell is from Corner Brook, N.L, and moved to Halifax in the 1980s to be a morning show host for CHUM radio, which evolved into C100 FM.

The Signal sat down with Farrell to discuss her journey and her favourite memories:

Q. What made you decide to leave C100 and move to Cape Breton?

A. Oh my god, I’ve been commuting for 10 years. My husband has a great job in Cape Breton and I have a great job here, so we’ve been commuting back and forth for 10 years. The best way to explain it is I feel that family has to be chosen over a job, and I feel like I’ve done my time here. It’s time to go and move on and have my time with my husband. Honestly, I’m driving on the highway to Cape Breton every weekend and I feel like I’m going to meet my demise.

Q. Do you plan to do radio in Cape Breton as well? 

A. No, I’m not going to do radio anymore. I’m going to figure out what I’m going to do but I’ll take my time to figure it out.

Q. What is your favourite memory from working at C100?

A. Um, that is a hard question because I have so many great memories, but if I were to pick one … I carried the Olympic torch. That would be my most favourite memory. But I have to say, even though I carried the torch, there was one morning on the air when it went by the station, and I was downstairs trying to describe it, and I was so emotional by seeing the Olympic torch. I just started crying my eyes out and I couldn’t even say a word for the broadcast on air. I was so moved emotionally seeing the Olympic torch go by knowing that I would be carrying it. I carried it in Bridgewater. That was just so amazing.

Q. What will you miss the most about C100 when you leave?

A. I will miss Peter Harrison, and Gwen (Watt), and JC, but Peter and I have been together since the very beginning. I will miss that, and I’ll also miss all my friends here. I will miss waking up Halifax, because I’ve been doing it for more than half my life.

Q. I’m sure you have plenty of memories with Peter Harrison, but what is your funniest one?

A. When it was Kelly, Peter, and Moya on the morning show, with Kelly Latremouille, Peter Harrison, and myself. Peter and Kelly had this ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous competition between the two of them to see who could wear shorts the latest in the year, and for some reason I got involved in their stupid antics, and if they were able to do it until Dec. 31^st then I had to jump in the Halifax Harbour. Yes, I know, the expression on your face is exactly how I felt. I have no idea how I even got involved in this. That would have to be one of the funniest things that we have done.

Q. How long did they wear shorts for?

A. They wore them all the way from the end of the summer to the end of the year, so I got suckered into jumping in at the Black Rock Beach at the harbour.  This is only one of millions of the funny memories that we have. 

Q. Have you ever made a mistake on the air? Said something you weren’t supposed to?

A. I absolutely have. We used to do a lot of voice tracking. I had to do one one Saturday morning for the Atlantic Canada Countdown way back when. I was driving down the highway and all of a sudden I heard myself going “Damn! Damn! Damn!” because I didn’t erase the voice track and re-do it, and I thought for sure I was going to be fired. I thought “oh my god, that is the worst thing I could ever do.” Because we’re not supposed to sound like we’re actually recording or anything and it was supposed to be live. That’s probably one of the worst things I’ve ever done.