Vernon Kay is returning to the BBC to replace Ken Bruce on his Radio 2 mid-morning weekday show, the broadcaster has confirmed.
The 48-year-old TV presenter will take over in May to replace the Scottish broadcasting veteran, who announced last month he would be stepping down from presenting on Radio 2 after 31 years.
Bruce will present his final 9.30am-to-midday show on 3 March.
Kay, who is married to Strictly Come Dancing presenter Tess Daly, is best known for fronting Channel 4’s T4 and ITV programmes including All Star Family Fortunes, Just The Two Of Us and Beat The Star.
But he has previously hosted BBC radio, including his own Radio 1 show between 2004 and 2012. He is also a familiar voice on Radio 2, filling in for presenters including Zoe Ball, Steve Wright, Rylan Clark and Dermot O’Leary. Kay also hosted Radio X between 2015 and 2017.
He said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to be handed the microphone to present the mid-morning show on Radio 2, and what an honour to follow in the footsteps of the mighty Ken Bruce.
“I look forward to playing some of the best music in the world whilst in the company of the Radio 2 listeners who I feel I’ve got to know over the last 18 months. It’s a dream come true to join the Radio 2 family and I can’t wait to start.”
Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said Kay was picked as a “hugely talented, warm and witty host” who is already a “firm favourite” with listeners after filling in for other hosts.
Nevertheless, there has been widespread criticism of Radio 2’s recent effort to rejuvenate its lineup. Longstanding DJs Paul O’Grady, Vanessa Feltz and Craig Charles have all left or announced their departures in the past year. Their replacements – such as Rylan Clark and Michelle Visage – are all younger, leading to ageism complaints from listeners.
Steve Wright also left his weekday afternoon show last year – replaced by former Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills – but still hosts Sunday Love Songs and occasional specials.
Speaking to the Guardian in December, Feltz said of her departure: “I was aware of women over the age of 60 suddenly biting the dust. I don’t think that I would have been exempt from that at all.
“It seems to be a casual culling and jettisoning of proper broadcasting adornments. And it feels as if that casualness and that callousness is applying not just to the presenters but to the audience. It’s like: ‘Oh, we don’t need you and we don’t want you. You’re too old, you’re too staid, you’re too middle-class, you’re too middle-aged.’”
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The BBC confirmed Gary Davies, host of the station’s Sounds of the 80s, would present the mid-morning show from 6 March until Kay joined on a yet to be confirmed date in May.
He will introduce a new weekday pop quiz to replace Bruce’s popular PopMaster format, as well as continuing his own radio show, which he has fronted since 2018.
Bruce announced he was leaving the BBC in January before confirming he would be moving to Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio in April to present a new mid-morning show from 10am to 1pm.
The 72-year-old, who started at the BBC in his early 30s, said he would always be proud of his association with the BBC and Radio 2, but that he wanted to continue his career “in a slightly different way in the next few years”.
