Scottish broadcaster Ken Bruce is by far best known for hosting his long-running mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 in the 1980s and then again in the early 1990s until this year. His millions of listeners were stunned after the bombshell news he was quitting. His last ever show on the station aired on Friday, March 3 with Bruce having already made plans on where he would go next.
The 72-year-old radio presenter Ken Bruce has been associated with the BBC for 31 years so it was a major talking point when he announced his departure.
But rather than retire, Bruce was adamant he wanted his career to continue thriving, just in a different setting and so he joined Greatest Hits Radio.
His first show debuted today [Monday, April 3] which went down a storm with listeners, many of who are loyal fans of Bruce who followed him to his new station.
Bruce’s decision to quit Radio 2 was partly made as he didn’t feel as appreciated as he should have by the BBC.
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“I probably wanted to prove a few things to myself, and maybe to some other people, about my worth on Radio 2″, Bruce told Radio Times.
“There were times when I felt I wasn’t really noticed by either the BBC itself or some listeners.
“So I thought, ‘I’m going to make these people appreciate me.’
“And having done that to my satisfaction, I felt it was time to give myself a little challenge, try something different, rather than become stale and wait for the axe.”
When asked if he felt he was being taken for “granted”, Bruce enthusiastically replied “you’re absolutely right”.
He explained how other presenters, mostly on television, were getting lots of publicity but he wasn’t being appreciated.
Bruce said: “I thought, ‘Well, I just want to make these people realise that I’m doing quite a good job.’
“There was a certain amount of, ‘Oi, I’m over here!’”
Bruce isn’t the first presenter that BBC Radio 2 has lost to Greatest Hits either.
Two years ago, the popular station was also able to nab Simon Mayo on various shows for four decades.
He mostly worked for Radio 1, including a five-year stint on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show.
When Bruce made his big debut on Greatest Hits this morning, he didn’t forget to make his loyal Radio 2 listeners feel welcome.
At the end of his last show on Radio 2, his final song was The End, the penultimate song on The Beatles’ iconic album Abbey Road.
To tie in with his musical journey, he chose to play Come Together, the Abbey Road opening song, as it was “back to the beginning for a brand new start” for him.
He said how there would be “some new things to get used to” but reassured fans there would still be his famous PopMaster game to look forward to later in the show.
