Vernon Kay’s BBC Radio 2 show has lost 1.3 million listeners since he took over from the presenter Ken Bruce, the latest figures show.
Bruce, 72, worked at the station for 31 years before leaving in March and joining Greatest Hits Radio (GHR) the following month. Kay, 49, took over the station’s mid-morning slot in May.
But the latest statistics from the radio industry body Rajar show Kay is pulling in 6.9 million listeners, 1.3 million fewer than when Bruce was presenting. The quarterly figures span June to September 2023.
Meanwhile Bruce, who continues his PopMaster quiz on GHR, has increased the audience for his new show by 800,000 to 3.7million in the same period. The veteran DJ’s arrival has been a fillip for the entire station, which now has 6.5 million weekly listeners for all of its shows, compared with 3.7 million last year.
Bruce said he was “delighted” to hear he had helped his new station, Greatest Hits, reach its biggest audience yet. “It’s been an honour to share this new adventure with those that have made the switch, and talking of honours I have an appointment to keep this Friday, which explains why I’m not on air this week,” he said.
Kay’s show remains the UK’s most popular on radio, while Radio 2 is still the most listened-to channel in the country. The station registered 13.5 million weekly listeners, 1 million down on the same period in 2022.
Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, said: “Radio 2 continues to be the country’s most popular station and I’m delighted with the flying start Vernon Kay has made to mid-mornings as the UK’s biggest radio show, bringing his warmth, energy and charisma to listeners up and down the country.”
Helen Thomas, the BBC Radio 2 controller, said she was “proud that Radio 2 remains the UK’s most listened to radio station”.
Bruce had told the Radio Times that previously he had felt he was “just an afterthought” and had been taken for granted by Radio 2. He also said he had been struggling to feel enthusiastic about the new music he had to play. It was “a shame” that the station had asked him to finish three weeks before his contract officially ended.
“I was annoyed because I thought, I’m reasonable. I’m not being difficult. Neither were you,” he said. “I think the idea is just to create a bit of space between me and Vernon starting.”
At the time of Bruce’s departure, the presenter Simon Mayo, who left Radio 2 in December 2018 and later joined GHR, said that it had been poorly handled.
“I think what’s surprising is that it lingered as long as it did. If you’re on social media the Greatest Hits Radio Twitter icon is Ken Bruce.”
