After more than three decades of delivering BBC Radio 2’s mid-morning show, DJ Ken Bruce paid thanks to his listeners as he signed off.
The 72-year-old Scottish host will be joining the commercial channel Greatest Hits Radio. Bruce concluded Friday’s show by performing Golden Slumbers by The Beatles.
He informed the audience, quoting the song,
“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you give, and I have adored being with you.”
He said,
“Many thanks, and may we meet again sometime.”
Bruce anchored the weekly mid-morning program on Radio 2 for over three decades and had been on BBC radio in some capacity for 46 years.
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed in any manner to our program, especially the listeners,” he stated.
“I couldn’t accomplish it without the contribution and completion of the discussion by the audience. We communicate every day, and I hope we’ll be able to continue doing so in the future.
After receiving well wishes during the presentation, Bruce remarked,
“Thanks to everyone who sent any type of congratulations – or farewells.”
Gary Davies will host the 09:30-12:00 program between now and May when Vernon Kay will succeed him.
Bruce congratulated the BBC in his farewell address, stating,
“I’ve been here for a long time, and despite the odd nonsense, it is still the finest broadcasting organization in the world.”
Jeremy Vine praised the long-serving broadcaster as “the most brilliant, generous, and gifted colleague” and “the broadcaster we all aspire to be like.”
Richie Anderson, a travel journalist, described him as “the kindest, warmest, friendliest person,” adding, “Working with you has been a pleasure.”
Bruce is leaving Radio 2 with the last edition of his wildly popular quiz Popmaster, which was broadcast on Friday’s program.
The Glaswegian presenter abruptly departed his Radio 2 program after being advised by the BBC not to complete his contract, a decision he described as disappointing.
He told the Today program on BBC Radio 4:
“The BBC has every right to ask me to leave a little early. But for the sake of the 17 days that remained on my contract, it seems regrettable.”
Bruce’s Radio 2 contract was scheduled to expire on March 24, but he tweeted last week that the BBC had asked him to host the final episode of his show on Friday.
The BBC stated,
“Ken has decided to quit Radio 2, and his March departure has long been known. After a month of broadcasting, returning to Wogan House [the station’s headquarters] for a week of Piano Room sessions at Maida Vale seemed a natural break. We wish Ken well in the future.”
The host acknowledged that he left the station voluntarily and was not fired by management.
Bruce told BBC News,
“I’ve gone of my own accord; I wanted to go at this moment.” “I understand the BBC were in the midst of preparing an offer for me to remain. Yet, I had already made my decision prior to then.”
Since 2019, Bruce’s mid-morning radio show has been the most popular in the United Kingdom, surpassing the breakfast show, which has lost listeners after Chris Evans’ departure.
When asked about leaving such a successful show, Bruce responded,
“I don’t want to preside over its demise, as it has become the most popular radio program in Britain.” I want to leave while it is the most popular thing.”
Bruce announced his retirement from Radio 2 in January, praising his time there as “very enjoyable” but added that “a change was in order.”
Simon Mayo, a former Radio 2 DJ, stated that Bruce “may have left the building earlier than Friday” if he had been leaving a commercial station.
“I find it remarkable that the situation with Ken Bruce on Radio 2 lasted as long as it did,” he stated on Roger Bolton’s Beeb Watch.
“If you use social media, Ken Bruce is the Greatest Hits Radio Twitter symbol. Now that Ken is an advertisement for Greatest Hits Radio, I can see why they may have felt the need to expedite these matters. It’s sad that it feels so disorganized.”
Unrest at Radio 2
Presently, Radio 2 is enduring a time of substantial upheaval, with a number of presenters departing the station voluntarily or involuntarily.
Ken Bruce, Vanessa Feltz, and Graham Norton have been poached by rival networks, while Radio 2’s controller Helen Thomas has replaced Steve Wright on weekday afternoons with Scott Mills.
Paul O’Grady quit the station after being forced to split his Sunday time slot with comic Rob Beckett, while Craig Charles lost his weekend show (but still presents on BBC 6Music).
With Mills, Kay, Jo Whiley, Trevor Nelson, Zoe Ball, and Sara Cox among its presenters, Radio 2’s programming now mirrors that of Radio 1 in the early 2000s.
Although it has always been the case that Radio 1 presenters move to Radio 2 later in their careers, the sudden departure of so many senior DJs from Radio 2 has angered many long-time listeners.
Bruce joins Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio as the commercial station positions itself as an alternative to Radio 2 for older listeners who believe the BBC station no longer caters to them.
Mark Goodier and Jackie Brambles also work at Greatest Hits Radio, while Mayo presents its drivetime program.
Ken Bruce, who has previously hosted T4 on Channel 4 and All Star Family Fortunes on ITV, as well as shows on BBC Radio 1 and Radio X, described taking over Bruce’s Radio 2 show as “a dream come true.”
“And what an honor it is to follow in the footsteps of the great Ken Bruce,” he continued. “I am really ecstatic to be given the microphone.”
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