Ken Bruce issues damning warning to BBC after controversial exit: ‘I worry for its future’

Ken Bruce has given his brutal opinion on where he thinks the BBC could be heading, despite his glowing words of positivity when he initially announced he was leaving the radio station.

Bruce, 73, first moved to a weekday mid-morning radio show before moving to a brief stint on late nights for less than a year in 1990. He then returned to early mornings in January 1992, where he presented for over 30 years until his departure in 2023.

Back in January 2023, the veteran presenter decided to hand in his resignation and described his three decades under the corporation as “tremendously happy”.

However, in a new interview, Bruce has given his verdict on what he thinks the future looks like for the BBC and given it a stern warning on how to “reinvent” itself.

Speaking to The Time, he explained: “I think some younger people in broadcasting, less experienced people, can say, ‘They want to hear me talk about myself’. And that’s not necessarily true.

“It’s not about what you say, it’s what you don’t say on the radio. You don’t have to talk a lot to make an impression. You can do that in three words or a sentence. You don’t have to talk for four minutes about what you were doing or what you thought was funny.”

Sharing his worries for the direction the BBC might be heading in, Bruce continued: “I do worry for the future of the BBC. I think it needs to watch where it is going.

“Commercial radio is really healthy; it is growing and growing and growing. And I just think it’s difficult to reinvent something [the Radio 2 schedule] that has been successful for many years.

“It’s a slow organisation to turn around, like a supertanker. It needs people with vision to make sure it goes the right way.”

Despite Bruce’s kind words when leaving the broadcaster, he initially hinted at some friction between himself and the broadcaster when he first announced when his last show would be on his X account.

He penned: “I will be presenting my last show on Radio 2 next Friday. I had intended to fulfil my contract until the end of March but the BBC has decided it wants me to leave earlier. Let’s enjoy the week ahead!”

A spokesperson responded to Bruce’s remarks at the time with: “Ken decided to leave Radio 2 and it’s always been known he’s leaving in March. Returning to Wogan House for a week after a month of broadcasting the Piano Room sessions at Maida Vale provided a natural break.

“We wish Ken all the best for the future,” they concluded.

Since his departure, over one million people now no longer tune in, while his new show on Greatest Hits pulled in a staggering average of 3.8 million listeners per week.

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Whilst his popularity continues to soar, Bruce recently left Swiftie’s – Taylor Swift fans – outraged when he claimed he would never play her songs on his show.

He recently told The Mail On Sunday that he thinks: “All her songs are the same. I’ll play her on my station when she writes something that isn’t about her ex-boyfriends.”

The 73-year-old went on to clarify his distaste for her music, and added: “Great radio songs have three beats and then they’re straight into the song, not these long intros that she does.”