Ken Bruce on leaving the BBC
BBC Radio 2 has been losing more listeners to Greatest Hits DJ Ken Bruce, it has been reported. The Scottish broadcaster decided to leave the BBC station after 31 years last year and was replaced by Vernon Kay.
Official figures reveal that BBC Radio 2 listeners have dipped since the beloved long-time presenter left the station 11 months ago. It has also been reported that audience numbers for Greatest Hits Radio has increased to 3.8 million since Ken joined.
The 72-year old started at the commercial rival station in April with only 2.2 million listeners. Meanwhile, his former slot on BBC Radio 2 has seen a loss in audience figures, with 1.5 million people moving away from the station.
Ken joined Bauer Media Group UK with a brand-new mid-morning show on Greatest Hits Radio from April 3 and took with him the legendary Pop Master radio quiz, to which he owns the rights.
With 6.9 million listeners on BBC Radio 2, Vernon still hosts the UK’s biggest radio show, but he has acknowledged that it came as no surprise to him that BBC figures had dipped since Ken's departure.
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Speaking to Radio Times last year in an interview, Vernon said: "There was a dip when Ken Bruce left but that’s to be expected. Ken’s a radio icon and there’s a lot of love for him.
"That’s proven by him taking some of the audience with him to Greatest Hits, which is fabulous for him.
"But since that dip, figures have stayed steady, so I’m pleased. It feels like I’m chatting to a load of mates.
"When the fader’s down, it’s me on my Jack Jones. When it’s up, 6.9 million people from all over the UK and Europe cram into the studio."
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Ken revealed last year that it was his decision to leave the BBC and insisted that he "wasn't sacked." When asked why he left the corporation earlier last year, Ken said that it wasn't to get a taste of "freedom", but he did worry he'd get "grumpy" if he stayed.
He said: "I didn’t want to be declining over the next three or four years and still doing the same show but everyone around me getting younger. I was thinking: Am I the old bloke in the corner, here?"
Ken added: "I didn’t want to become the old grump in the corner. Any new idea that we tried didn’t work, which does happen. I felt I would get more bitter and entrenched. I left. I didn’t die in harness. I wasn’t sacked."
