Ken Bruce has criticised the BBC over a ‘lack of support’ following his shock radio exit.
The presenter, 72, hosted his show on Radio 2 for more than 30 years when he alleged that the broadcaster asked him to step down in January 2023.
Now, Ken has claimed his programme didn’t get a mention or any form of promotion when it became the biggest show on air.
He told The Telegraph: ‘I didn’t want any hoo-ha, so when my show became the biggest show on radio, I didn’t want to say anything about it but I kind of thought the BBC should.
‘I wasn’t expecting to be carried on a litter with people strewing palms in front of me, but I thought, surely that’s worth a mention? As far as I’m aware, it wasn’t mentioned by the BBC at all. Ever ‘.
Radio legend Ken Bruce has blasted the BBC over a ‘lack of support’ following shock exit as he claims that the broadcaster ‘didn’t even mention’ his show
Radio legend Ken Bruce has blasted the BBC over a ‘lack of support’ following shock exit as he claims that the broadcaster ‘didn’t even mention’ his show
But Ken admitted that he needed ‘a little change in life’ and insisted that all is ‘so far, so good’ in his new role at Greatest Hits radio as paid tribute to his fellow radio star Steve Wright.
The DJ had hosted Steve Wright in the Afternoon on BBC Radio 2 had also hosted his own show for a number of years but it was axed in 2022 and he was found dead last month at the age of 66.
Ken said: ‘Above all, Steve was a realist. Nobody likes to be taken off a show… but it’s something we all have as a possibility at the back of our minds.
‘Nothing is forever’.
Just weeks ago, it was revealed that the pair had plans to get together to celebrate Steve’s recent MBE award.
Ken told his fans that after decades with the BBC, he wanted to continue his career ‘in a slightly different way in the next few years’
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Ken told his fans that after decades with the BBC, he wanted to continue his career ‘in a slightly different way in the next few years’
Steve Wright, who died on February 12, 2024, was stripped of his Radio 2 afternoon show in 2022
In a statement shared on X – formerly known as Twitter – Ken wrote: ‘Totally shocked to hear the news about the great Steve Wright.
We were planning lunch to celebrate the award of his richly deserved MBE.
An outstanding and innovative broadcaster whose listeners loved him. What a loss to the world of radio.’
Previously, the presenter said he left the BBC after three decades in the same slot because it was ‘time for a change’ and it felt ‘like the natural culmination of some planning I’ve been doing’.
‘There was a point of saying that I can’t enthuse over all the new music I’m having to play as much as I could over the old music.
‘And I didn’t want to get to the stage where I was badmouthing some of the music [or] pretending to like it.’
The father of six elaborated: ‘I certainly did think I’ve got a bit more to offer. I didn’t want to be declining over the next three or four years and still doing the same show, but everybody around me getting younger and thinking, ”Am I the old bloke in the corner here?”