Good Golly, Molly! Robert's Family Act

The radio dad couldn’t be happier about sharing the spotlight with his daughter

- Rebekah Hebenton

From the moment a young Robert Scott saw a radio host at work in Palmerston North, he knew that was the job for him. Having moved from England, where they didn’t have local radio, it was fascinating to the then nine-year-old to be able to bike into town and see a man on-air – and that childlike passion has driven his almost 40-year career.

Starting in regional radio, the 54-year-old’s goal was always to make it to the big stations in Auckland, and seven years into his career, he was given his opportunity at what was then 91FM. But the move was a culture shock for Robert, who also started work on kids’ television show Yahoo the same week he started on radio.

“All of a sudden it was crazy, and I was socialising and rubbing shoulders with all these famous people. It was quite overwhelming – almost too overwhelming. I actually missed Palmerston North. I missed the pace of it.”

And it was a hard feeling to shake. He tells, “It took me a good year to realise, ‘Hey, this is what you wished for. Just suck it up, Princess.’”

Though he is used to the hustle and bustle of the city now, there are still some famous people that can make Robert feel nervous. After a tense phone interview with Bryan Adams 20 years ago, where the rocker told him to rip up his page of questions and ask them from the heart, he was worried about interviewing him again in 2019, this time in person.