Why is Ken Bruce leaving BBC Radio 2? Where the mid-morning show host is going next and what he’s said

BBC Radio 2 tweeted: ‘We have some news… After 31 years of presenting the 9.30am-midday weekday show Ken Bruce has decided to leave. We’re going to miss you lots Ken and want to congratulate you on a fantastic career at the BBC’

One of the BBC’s radio legends is leaving the broadcaster after 30 years.

Ken Bruce is taking his millions of fans elsewhere to enjoy his music selections, humour and quizzes.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When is Ken Bruce leaving the BBC?

After a career spanning three decades at the broadcaster, he is leaving for pastures new in March.

BBC Radio 2 tweeted: “We have some news… After 31 years of presenting the 9.30am-midday weekday show Ken Bruce has decided to leave. We’re going to miss you lots Ken and want to congratulate you on a fantastic career at the BBC.”

Bruce said: “Nothing stays the same for ever and I have decided the time is right for me to move on from Radio 2 when I reach the end of my current contract in March. It’s been a tremendously happy time for me: I’ve made many friends and worked with many wonderful colleagues.”

Lorna Clarke, director of BBC Music, said: “Ken is an extraordinary broadcaster with an exceptional career over many decades. He has been part of every significant occasion marked by BBC Radio 2 and we, his faithful audience and the Radio 2 all-star line-up will miss his warm humour and wit. Congratulations on a brilliant career.”

Where is he going?

Ken Bruce will join Greatest Hits Radio in April after leaving his mid-morning weekday slot on BBC Radio 2 after 31 years in March, it has been announced.

Greatest Hits Radio tweeted: “We’ve been keeping a big secret… We are delighted to announce that legendary broadcaster @RealKenBruce will be joining the Greatest Hits Radio family in April.”

The broadcaster, 71, will present a show from 10am to 1pm on the Bauer radio station, alongside presenters including Simon Mayo at Drivetime and Jackie Brambles in the early evening.

Bruce said: “What better way to celebrate my 45 years in radio than with a new adventure and a brand-new show on Greatest Hits Radio. I say brand new but there will still be PopMaster, me and my musings and all the great records you know and love from the 70s, 80s and 90s.

“I’m looking forward to getting started and to you joining me for my very first show. See you in April!”

Ben Cooper, chief content and music officer at Bauer Audio UK, said: “Ken Bruce is a broadcasting legend, with the biggest radio show in the UK, so as well as today being an exciting announcement for Greatest Hits Radio and its growing audience, it is a hugely significant moment for the industry.

“What a fantastic start to a great year of increased ambition and innovation for Bauer Media Audio.”

Why is he leaving?

Bruce joins a Radio 2 exodus which began with Chris Evans’s departure for Virgin Radio in 2019 and now includes Vanessa Feltz, Simon Mayo, Paul O’Grady, Craig Charles and Graham Norton.

Bauer is believed to have offered Bruce a multi-year contract to jump ship, whereas the BBC was only willing to grant a one-year extension to his £390,000 deal.

Bruce said: “I feel that after 45 years of full-time broadcasting on BBC Radio it’s time for a change. I would stress that this is entirely my decision but some new opportunities have come up and I would like to continue my career in a slightly different way in the next few years, the details of which will be revealed shortly.

“I will always be very proud of my association with the BBC and Radio 2 in particular and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped to make the mid-morning show a success.”

Listeners, who took to social media to express their shock at Bruce’s exit, have also rebelled against Radio 2’s evolving music policy.

Fans of Wright say his successor, Scott Mills, is playing fewer hits from the 60s and 70s, in favour of more recent dance music.

Insiders fear Radio 2 is seeking to lure “30-something mums who go clubbing in Ibiza” from rival stations at the expense of older listeners.

Bruce promised fans who abandon Radio 2 for his new GHR show that they would hear “all the great records you know and love from the 70s, 80s and 90s.”

Bruce joins ex-BBC stars Simon Mayo and Jackie Brambles in a GHR line-up which will directly target older listeners disillusioned with Radio 2’s shift to seek a younger audience.

Boom Radio, a new station aimed at Radio 2’s baby-boomer audience, staffed by veteran DJs such as David Hamilton, already claims 336,000 listeners.

Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, said of its musical selections: “We are told by listeners that just because they are a certain age, it doesn’t mean they don’t want to hear new music.”

When did he join the BBC?

The BBC wrote: Ken joined the BBC in 1977 as a BBC Radio Scotland staff presenter. His first regular slot on Radio 2 was the Saturday Late Show in 1984, and the following year he fronted the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, taking over from Terry Wogan.

“He moved to mid mornings in 1986, then after a brief stint on late nights and early mornings, he returned to mid mornings in January 1992, where the show’s most recent weekly reach was 8.56m (Rajar, Q3 2022).

“Ken has also presented Radio 2’s coverage of Eurovision since 1988, and has been a regular presenter of Sunday Night is Music Night.

“Ken’s show is famous for PopMaster, a quiz which has run for 25 years, Tracks of My Years, where a famous person chooses their favourite records and more recently, The Piano Room, featuring live music from a range of great artists.