Ken Bruce says he ‘wasn’t being difficult’ about BBC exit

Ken Bruce has given his first interview since his exit from BBC Radio 2.

The veteran broadcaster, 72, left the station earlier this month, after hosting its mid-morning show for 31 years.

He is moving to commercial station Greatest Hits Radio, with a new show launching there on 3 April. Vernon Kay, 48, is stepping into Bruce’s shoes to host Radio 2’s mid-morning programme.

In February, Bruce revealed that BBC bosses had asked him to leave three weeks earlier than planned, instead of continuing until 24 March, when his contract ended.

Reports at the time suggested that this decision was made in an effort to stop him from publicising his new Greatest Hits show on Radio 2.

In a new interview with The Times, Bruce has now said of the enforced early exit: “I was annoyed because I thought, ‘I’m reasonable. I’m not being difficult. Neither were you…’ I think the idea is just to create a bit of space between me and Vernon starting.”

Bruce said Kay is “a fabulous guy, a lovely character and a great presenter. He will be a different act, which is a good thing. Never put the same kind of person into the job that has just been vacated.”

In the interview, he also lamented the pressure to play certain new pop artists on Radio 2. “I am 72 I would really quite like to spend the next few years playing really terrific music from a set of decades I am entirely comfortable with,” he said. “There comes a point when you can’t really enthuse about the latest release by Ava Max.”

Max is a 29-year-old Albanian-American singer and songwriter whose hits include the electropop track “Sweet but Psycho”.

Bruce’s first show on Greatest Hits Radio will air on 3 April. He has taken his adored quiz, PopMaster, with him to the station.