Roman Travers is the Newstalk ZB host behind Overnight Talk and the Saturday-night nostalgia show In My Day. He is in his late 50s, grew up in Masterton as one of seven children and has two adult daughters, Sophia and Holly. He has not named a wife or partner publicly.
If you have ever been awake at 3am with the radio on, there is a fair chance you have heard him. Thirty years after he finished radio school, Travers spends three nights a week on the overnight talkback shift, then hands Saturday nights over to listeners’ memories of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Where is Roman Travers now?
He is still on Newstalk ZB, as of October 2026. The station’s Overnight Talk page lists him on these shifts:
| Show | When it airs | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight Talk | Monday 1am to 5am | Open-line talkback |
| Overnight Talk | Tuesday midnight to 5am | Open-line talkback |
| Overnight Talk | Friday midnight to 5am | Open-line talkback |
| In My Day | Saturday 6pm to midnight | Callers and music from the 70s, 80s and 90s |
In My Day is built around listener calls, with a “Caller of the Night” each week. Recent topics have ranged from first bikes and power cuts to New Zealand’s first McDonald’s and the 1953 London to Christchurch air race. It runs on the same network as Mike Hosking‘s breakfast show, but at the other end of the clock.
How old is Roman Travers?
Woman’s Day reported in August 2022 that he was 53, which puts him at about 57 now. His exact birthday has not been published.
Where was Roman Travers born and raised?
He grew up in Masterton, raised by his mother, Gabrielle, alongside six siblings, including two older brothers. His father left when Roman was eight, when all seven children were under 11. “I grew up with a sense of loss,” he told Woman’s Day. “There was also confusion – divorce in those days was not that common.” His birthplace itself has not been stated in the interviews we could check.
Does Roman Travers have a wife or partner?
This is the question people search for most, and the honest answer is that he has not shared it. Neither Newstalk ZB’s own biography nor his longer interviews name a wife, ex-wife or partner. Names that circulate in search suggestions and on forums are not backed by any published interview, so we are leaving them out.
Roman Travers’ daughters
He has two daughters, Sophia and Holly. Woman’s Day gave their ages as 26 and 23 in 2022, so both are now adults. Newstalk ZB’s biography also mentions his “two adult daughters”.
Roman Travers and Big Buddy
His childhood is the reason he volunteers. Travers has been a Big Buddy mentor since 2016 and is now an ambassador for the charity, which matches boys aged 7 to 14 who are growing up without a dad with volunteer male mentors.
He signed up after his daughters left home. “I felt this empty void and wanted to keep doing something,” he told John Cowan on Newstalk ZB’s Real Life in 2022. He was matched with an Auckland boy, Aidan, who was seven when they met. Travers told Woman’s Day: “It’s not like I look at him as if he is one of my children,” and recalled Aidan asking whether the friendship could be “forever”.
His career in radio and TV
Travers graduated from the New Zealand Radio Training School in Wellington in 1995. In 1996 he became drive host on Classic Hits, first in Whanganui and then in Hamilton, back when the stations belonged to Radio New Zealand’s commercial arm, which later became The Radio Network. He has since hosted breakfast and drive shows and done plenty of voice-over work.
On television, he hosted the London and Paris editions of The $20 Challenge, which Newstalk ZB calls New Zealand’s first reality TV show, and appeared on Sky Movies’ Big Picture Show. Off air, he drives a Land Rover Defender and likes spontaneous road trips around the country.
Frequently asked questions
What radio station is Roman Travers on?
Newstalk ZB, on Overnight Talk three nights a week and In My Day on Saturday nights.
Is Roman Travers married?
He has not said publicly whether he is married, and no partner has been named in his interviews.
What time is In My Day on Newstalk ZB?
Saturdays from 6pm until midnight.
How many children does Roman Travers have?
Two adult daughters, Sophia and Holly.
