Ken Bruce: Radio 2 DJ says early BBC exit 'seems a shame'

DJ Ken Bruce has said it "seems a shame" to beryllium leaving his Radio 2 amusement earlier than anticipated, aft the BBC asked him not to implicit his contract.

The Scottish presenter, 72, is leaving the presumption to big a caller amusement connected commercialized presumption Greatest Hits Radio.

He told Radio 4's Today programme: "It's wholly wrong the BBC's close to inquire maine to measurement distant a small early.

"But for the involvement of 17 days, which was each that was remaining [on my contract], it seems a shame."

Bruce was primitively owed to implicit his Radio 2 declaration connected 24 March, but tweeted past week that the BBC had asked him to big the past variation of his weekday mid-morning amusement connected 3 March instead.

"Gardening permission is simply a known conception successful broadcasting, and successful galore different areas," helium told Today's Garry Richardson. "But you conscionable accommodate your timetable, and alternatively of 3 weeks, it's 1 week, and that's fine."

He added: "My content is that, erstwhile I'm fixed a contract, I enactment to it and implicit it. Over the past 46 years, I haven't had precise overmuch clip off, I've attempted to crook up whenever I'm required to crook up. So my earthy feeling arsenic a broadcaster is if I've got 17 days to do, I privation to bash them."

The BBC said: "Ken decided to permission Radio 2 and it's ever been known he's leaving successful March. Returning to Wogan House [the station's headquarters] for a week aft a period of broadcasting the Piano Room sessions astatine Maida Vale provided a earthy break. We privation Ken each the champion for the future."

Bruce volition beryllium replaced by 48-year-old Vernon Kay, who has antecedently presented Channel 4's younker strand T4 and ITV's All Star Family Fortunes, arsenic good arsenic programmes connected BBC Radio 1 and Radio X.

Former Radio 2 DJ Simon Mayo said Bruce "might person been retired the doorway sooner" if helium had been leaving a commercialized station.

"I deliberation what's astonishing is that it [the concern with Ken Bruce inactive connected Radio 2] lingered arsenic agelong arsenic it did," he told Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch.

"If you're connected societal media, the Greatest Hit Radio Twitter icon is Ken Bruce. Ken is an advert for Greatest Hits Radio present truthful I tin recognize wherefore they mightiness person thought we request to hasten these things. It's unfortunate due to the fact that it does consciousness messy."

Bruce is taking his hugely fashionable quiz Popmaster with him to his caller show, arsenic helium owns the rights to the format.

Radio 2 is presently undergoing a play of important upheaval, with respective presenters leaving the presumption either by unit oregon by choice.

Bruce, Vanessa Feltz and Graham Norton person been poached by different networks, portion Steve Wright was taken disconnected weekday afternoons and replaced with Scott Mills by Radio 2's controller Helen Thomas.

With its roster of presenters present including Mills, Kay, Jo Whiley, Trevor Nelson, Zoe Ball and Sara Cox, Radio 2's docket present resembles that of Radio 1 successful the aboriginal 2000s.

Although it has ever been the lawsuit that Radio 1 presenters gravitate towards Radio 2 aboriginal successful their careers, the exit of truthful galore older DJs from Radio 2 successful specified a abbreviated play of clip has upset galore semipermanent listeners.

Bruce said helium would not beryllium scripting his last words connected Radio 2 arsenic helium bids farewell to listeners conscionable earlier midday connected Friday, and nor did helium privation to marque a fuss implicit his exit.

"I respect regular programmes arsenic a continuing conversation," helium told Today. "So I'll conscionable beryllium getting to the extremity of yet different regular programme, it'll conscionable beryllium a speedy goodbye, I volition not beryllium tugging astatine heartstrings, chiefly due to the fact that I don't privation to tug astatine my own.

"I'll conscionable beryllium saying 'right, that's the extremity of this peculiar epoch of my life, but determination volition beryllium another, a continuation'. I emotion regular broadcasting, it's what I've done for years, I've been connected BBC vigor each weekday since 1977. So it's going to beryllium a difference, it's going to alteration maine a bit, but I inactive privation to beryllium connected the aerial each day."

He arrives astatine Bauer's Greatest Hits Radio astatine a clip erstwhile the commercialized presumption is positioning itself arsenic an alternate to Radio 2, for older listeners who consciousness the BBC presumption nary longer caters to them.

Greatest Hits Radio is besides location to Mark Goodier and Jackie Brambles, portion Mayo hosts its Drivetime programme

But the brace struggled to physique chemistry connected air, and Mayo yet left.

Bruce has hosted Radio 2's weekday mid-morning programme for much than 3 decades, and has been connected BBC vigor successful immoderate signifier for 46 years.

Kay, who came 3rd successful ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! successful 2020, said taking implicit Bruce's Radio 2 amusement was "a imagination travel true".

"And what an honour to travel successful the footsteps of the mighty Ken Bruce," helium added successful a statement. "I'm perfectly implicit the satellite to beryllium handed the microphone."

The Bolton-born presenter volition instrumentality implicit the programme successful May. Gary Davies, who hosts Sounds of the 80s connected the station, volition contiguous the programme successful the interim.