Claudia Winkleman revealed that she is stepping down from her Saturday morning BBC Radio 2 show live on air on Saturday.
The presenter, who has worked with Radio 2 since 2008 and had her Saturday morning slot since 2021, announced that her last weekly programme will be in March 2024.
Claudia, 51, said on the show: “I absolutely love Radio 2 and it’s been a privilege to host the Saturday morning show for three years. I will miss our amazing guests, our brilliant listeners and the one and only Sally Traffic.”
“The truth is my children are growing up inordinately fast so I have decided to follow them around at home before they leave for good. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who works on the show, I will continue to visit with badly made biscuits and will pester the bosses to present the odd special.”
Claudia’s first role on Radio 2 was hosting the comedy quiz series Hot Gossip in 2008, followed by a series of roles including Claudia, which she hosted on Friday nights from 2016.
It was revealed that comedian Romesh Ranganathan will take Claudia’s place on the Saturday morning slot.
Sharing her delight that Romesh would be her replacement, Claudia said on the show: “I couldn’t be happier that Romesh is taking over Saturday mornings on Radio 2. He is brilliantly laugh out loud funny, and I’ll listen every single week as my kids beg me to leave them alone.”
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Romesh, 45, currently presents For The Love of Hip Hop for Radio 2 and BBC sounds on Saturday mornings from midnight until 1am.
BBC Radio 2 announced Romesh’s new role on Instagram, with the caption: “We’re thrilled to announce that Romesh Ranganathan will launch a new Saturday morning show (10-1pm) in April 2024.”
Fans were quick to comment on the post, with one Instagram user writing: “Exciting news, congratulations Romesh!” While another penned: “I’ll miss Claudia but I just know you’re about to bring way more hip hop to my Saturday morning’s Romesh! And that can only be a good thing.”
Rylan Clark, who presents Rylan on Saturday on BBC Radio 2, added: “Welcome to Saturdays Rom.”
source : hellomagazine
