Lucio handed Cooper's Planet Rock slot

Planet Rock has hired Absolute Radio DJ Lucio Buffone to present a new live breakfast show on the station as a replacement for Alice Cooper.

Since 2006, Planet Rock listeners have woken up to Cooper's syndicated US programme, but the rock star will now move to a new Nights With Alice slot on weeknights from 9pm until 1am.

Buffone, who previously presented on Capital Radio and Xfm, will start the new breakfast show on January 17 next year, running for three hours from 6am. His playlist will include Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, Biffy Clyro and the Kings of Leon.

Discussing the new programme, Buffone said: "This show will be the antithesis to JLS, Simon Cowell and painful mornings. Planet Rock has had an amazing year and we'll be playing an amazing range of classic rock songs plus the best new bands."

Planet Rock programme director Trevor White added: "Lucio is a great addition to the team: he brings a proven track record and his new breakfast show will deliver everything our listeners need to start their day... and the best rock music on the Planet."

Buffone will continue to present his regular Friday night show on Absolute Radio's Absolute 80s station, but will leave the weekend breakfast show due to other work commitments.

According to the latest data, Planet Rock has an average weekly audience of 783,000 listeners on digital TV and the national digital audio broadcasting (DAB) platform.