Steve Wright was completely devoted to his BBC Radio 2 show - which makes the shock axing even more painful.
The 67-year-old DJ has had his weekday afternoon slot axed after 23 years in the hotseat in one of the biggest schedule shake ups the station has ever seen.
"Sometimes people don't want you," confessed Steve as he walked out of the BBC studios on Friday, but he confirmed he will still be working on Radio 2 in some capacity.
He continued: "I've been offered loads of stuff at the BBC and I'm staying at Radio 2. What it actually means for me is rather than working six days a week, I'll be working maybe two and a half days a week."
Steve will be replaced by long-serving Radio 1 presenter Scott Mills, who joined the station in 1998, while Chris Stark will also be leaving Radio 1 to focus on presenting That Peter Crouch Podcast.
Millions of people tune in to isten to Steve every weekend, with some dubbing it the most romantic show on radio, but the irony is that he has no time for his own love life.
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Steve was married to US-born Cyndi Robinson until they divorced in 1999 - and has struggled to find romance ever since because of his dedication to his job.
On Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs, the veteran DJ plays heartfelt dedications for listeners and tells stories of real-life romance but it has left him with no time to find a new partner.
He was spending three hours on the air five days a week and another two on Sunday for his pre-recorded Love Songs show.
In a rare admission about his personal life in July 2019, he said: "I work on an afternoon show on the BBC and I do a love songs show at the weekend and it means that I do a lot of interviews and I prep a lot and I write a lot. So I have to work all the time."
At the time, Steve was living in central London just a five-minute walk from Broadcasting House with his daughter Lucy.
While son Tom, who presents music nights in Camden and was a friend of the late Amy Winehouse, was living close by.
Although he was a regular presenter on Top of the Pops in the 1980s, Steve has shied away from the TV limelight and gets more privacy than many of his colleagues.
"I don't do a great deal of TV so I’m not recognised much," said Steve, who joined the BBC from Radio Luxembourg in 1980.
Steve, who was named as the BBC's fifth highest-earning presenter with an income in 2018-19 between £465,000 and £469,000 back in 2019, was drawing in up to eight million listeners in 2015.
But when asked if he thought he had become indispensable, he simply replied: "No. I don't think I am indispensable at all."
Steve keeps his own life very private and doesn't have Twitter or Facebook, which he believes had made it harder to get good material out of celebrities these days.
"It is all about social media now. People save a lot of stuff for social media. When I am interviewing people I think, 'Let's try something else. Let's talk about baked beans or something.'"
"I am deliberately not on social media," he added. "The reason is I have not got time."
Some angry fans have insisted they will stop listening to the afternoon slot when Steve leaves and branded it "the worst decision the BBC have made yet".
After news of the shake-up caused a huge stir amongst listeners, Steve returned to the airways at the weekend for his Sunday Love Songs.
Addressing the reacion straight away, he said: "Before we start the show proper, if I may, I'd just like to say thank you ever so much for all the messages that have come in over the weekend after I announced on Friday on the afternoon that we are leaving the afternoon show.
"This show stays," he confirmed, referring to his popular weekend programme, before assuring fans he will be doing ''other exciting projects for Radio 2 in the future.'
"So I'm not going anywhere. Not going anywhere!" he reiterated. "Thank you very much for the kind words. It really, really means a lot and I'm back on afternoons until the Autumn from tomorrow anyway.
"So thank you very much," he ended the personal message before moving on with his usual weekend staples.
Steve's exit led to an outpouring of support and upset from listeners and celebrity fans, including DJ Tony Blackburn who called him "a nice guy and a complete one off".
Jeremy Vine called Steve an "innovator, entertainer, complete and utter professional", while Piers Morgan said he is an "absolute master of the broadcasting craft.
Steve will continue to present Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs (9-11am) each weekend, he'll front a variety of Christmas and Easter specials for Radio 2 and will present regular Serious Jockin' shows exclusively for BBC Sounds.
When the news was announced, he said: "After nearly 24 years of presenting six shows a week on Radio 2, onwards and upwards for some brand new challenges! Radio 2 told me several months back that they wanted to do something different in the afternoons, and I thought – fair enough.
"Let's give somebody else a go. Scott is a brilliant and versatile broadcaster, he is the man for the job! And Sara's an amazing presenter, and a wondrous person.
"Later this year, fans of the afternoon show can go to BBC Sounds to hear a Serious Jockin' series and I'm also looking forward to developing and creating some exciting new digital programmes and podcasts, which will feature elements of the afternoon show. I get so much creative freedom at the BBC, I have no complaints.
"They've always been fair and kind to me.
"We're not done yet. Afternoons will finish in September, we’ll move onto new programmes and projects in October, and Love Songs will continue every Sunday morning."
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