LONDON – Veteran DJ Terry Wogan quit his BBC Radio 2 show after 27 years yesterday and told his listeners: “I’d rather leave while we’re in love.”
The presenter – who has the UK’s most listened-to programme – will be replaced by his one-time breakfast show rival Chris Evans.
Wogan (71) told his Wake Up To Woganlisteners he would be stepping down at the end of the year.
However, the switch will be a bitter pill for some of his most loyal fans, known as Togs – Terry’s Old Geezers or Gals.
One listener wrote on the BBC Radio 2 message board: “What a disaster it will be to lose Wogan in the mornings and worse still to get Chris Evans.” Another said replacing him with Evans was a “mistake”.
Wogan, whose show has eight million listeners, made his announcement live on air, and said the decision to leave was “the hardest thing I have ever done in my broadcasting career”.
He told listeners: “I wanted to be the first to tell you. It’s the least I owe you, for endless years, countless hours of morning companionship, friendship, good humour, and laughter. Your loyalty and support has been a beacon of love in my life.”
He added: “I’d rather leave while we’re in love, as the song says, while the programme is the most popular on British radio, while we still delight in each other’s company.” He began his first stint as Radio 2’s breakfast host in 1972 but bowed out at the end of 1984 to work on his BBC 1 TV chat show. He rejoined in 1993.
He will continue to work for Radio 2 with a new weekend show when he leaves the breakfast slot.
His replacement Evans, who hosts the Radio 2 drivetime show, praised Wogan: “To step down from something you have done so well and for so long and obviously still enjoy doing, must be a tough call even for such a stoic as Sir Tel.
“I couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of hosting the flagship show on one of the BBC’s national networks,” he added.
Evans had previously been Wogan’s breakfast rival on two occasions, when he fronted shows for Radio 1 and Virgin Radio, although his wayward behaviour led to his dismissal from both.
Chris Moyles, the present BBC Radio 1 morning presenter, paid tribute to his work – and relished the opportunity to overtake his listening figures.
Moyles, who yesterday became the longest serving breakfast host at Radio 1, said: “Terry Wogan is a phenomenal broadcaster, it’s the end of an era Terry not being on in the morning anymore. I, like millions of others will miss hearing his great Irish brogue every morning. That said . . . yay for me! I will be the number one breakfast DJ in Britain.”
Wogan modestly played down his contribution as he recorded a charity single. “I’ve just worn them down. If you do something for long enough, as I have, people confuse longevity with merit. They begin to feel sorry for you,” he joked. – (PA)