BBC dealt devastating blow as veteran presenter quits after 50 years

Veteran BBC presenter Garry Richardson, known for his interactions with famous personalities like Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela, will leave the Today programme after an impressive 43-year stint and 50 years since he joined the Beeb.

Richardson, 67, is rumoured to be one of the inspirations for Steve Coogan's character, Alan Partridge. His association with the character was so notable that he once directly asked Coogan: "Was I the original Alan Partridge?"

Coogan's response was clear: "No you weren't, there were many before you."

Reflecting on this, Richardson acknowledges, "There's a bit of Alan Partridge in every sports broadcaster."

Speaking to The Times, Richardson shared his concerns about his upcoming final broadcast, revealing he is "worried to death" about his last morning on the BBC Radio 4 programme scheduled for Monday, September 9.

He reminisced about his early passion for football, recounting a pivotal moment: "As a young boy I was playing in a trial match for Southampton Football Club but gave a penalty kick away in the opening ten minutes.

“In a way, I'm glad I didn't make it — you have a much longer career in broadcasting. I've been lucky, but I've also made my own luck."

Richardson's journey into broadcasting began in his teenage years when he would pretend to be a DJ in his bedroom.

At 17, he travelled to London and met Radio 2 presenter Tony Brandon at a fair.

Impressed by Richardson, Brandon's producer invited him for a tour of the BBC's Broadcasting House.

This led to Richardson's first job at the BBC as a junior clerk in the archives at Caversham Park in Reading, where he earned an annual wage of £909.

Reflecting on this period, Richardson said: "It was like having history in your hands because they had all the personal files of the great stars — Morecambe and Wise, Tommy Cooper, and Arthur Askey.

I used to sit and read them. Their letters were from before they were famous, asking for auditions, and then you'd read their audition reports.

With Tommy Cooper, they said 'hopeless magician, all his tricks went wrong', which of course was the essence of the gag."

While on the Today programme, Richardson provided betting tips but humorously admitted: "I don’t know the difference between a clothes horse and a rocking horse."

He confessed to not being a sports fan, merely reading out the tips.

The BBC discontinued these tips in June, to which Richardson philosophically noted, "Some people liked them, some didn’t.

Probably nobody listens to Today for the tips. Like all traditions, things come and go."

Richardson, who has three adult children and a two-year-old granddaughter, expressed he will miss his colleagues but not the early starts: "My alarm clock is set for quarter to three, but it never rings because I wake up an hour or two before that.

Last week I woke up at 2:25am and I punched the air, as that’s late for me. I go to bed at 8pm. I’m tired."