PRESENTER GEORGE HOOK won’t be returning to the airwaves until January, a spokesperson for the station confirmed.

As first reported in The Phoenix magazine, Hook won’t be beginning his weekend show this month, as was first announced when the presenter was suspended from the station.

It’s also been reported that Hook, who’s known as the provocative presenter of Newstalk’s High Noon, will be pre-recording his new weekend show.

The show’s first episode will be in January, a spokesperson confirmed to TheJournal.ie. A definite date has yet to be decided as the station deals with a number of changes to its schedule in the past few months.

Hook was suspended in September after widespread condemnation of his comments about rape during a broadcast of High Noon.

The presenter ended a monologue on the issue of rape with the question “is there no blame now to the person who puts themselves in danger?”

In the aftermath of that controversy, Ciara Kelly was confirmed to take over from Hook’s lunchtime slot, while a new weekend show was announced for Hook that was to begin this month.

In November, Newstalk’s Chris Donoghue announced his departure from the station as its group political editor to take up a post as Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney’s special advisor.

Shortly after that announcement, Donoghue’s former co-presenter Sarah McInerney also announced she would be leaving her newly-announced weekend show at Newstalk.

The station also cancelled Dil Wickremasinghe’s Newstalk programme Global Village after she spoke out against Hook following his comments, and refused to present her show until the station to action against him.

Read: Dil Wickremasinghe addresses Newstalk departure and George Hook controversy in new podcast

Read: Ciara Kelly to take over George Hook’s radio slot on Newstalk