Gary Davies 'hints he'd be happy to take on Ken Bruce's Radio 2 slot' trends now
Long-time radio DJ Gary Davies has said he's 'open to discussions' when it comes to the possibility of replacing Ken Bruce in BBC Radio 2's mid-morning slot.
The disc jockey, 65, made a sudden exit from BBC Radio 1 in 1993 when station bosses rushed to embrace Britpop and make way for the likes of Chris Evans, 56, to host its programmes.
Gary first joined Radio 1 in 1984 when he fronted lunchtime show The Bit in the Middle but, after his departure from the channel, he moved to Virgin Radio in 1994 where he remained until 2000.
While he now hosts Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s having taken over from Sara Cox in 2018, he seems keen to let fans know he'd be happy to consider a more prominent slot after Ken, Steve Wright and Paul O'Grady left the station.
He told the Mirror: 'I’m always open to discussions about lots of different things.'
New beginnings? Long-time radio DJ Gary Davies, 65, has said he's 'open to discussions' when it comes to the possibility of replacing Ken Bruce in BBC Radio 2's mid-morning slot (Gary pictured in 2018)
When Gary first returned to Radio 2 in 2017 to cover for Sara during her absence, it was his first time back on BBC radio in 23 years, something he never expected to happen.
'I never thought I’d be back on radio,' he explained. 'When I left in 1993, I thought that was it, time to do something else.
'The gap between Radio 1 and 2 was huge back then. I felt too young to go to Radio 2.'
He joked: 'In fact, I’m still a little bit too young for Radio 2!'
Gary, who lives in London with his wife JJ and his cavapoo Chilli, made his comments after it emerged last week that BBC Radio 2 had lost 580,000 listeners during a year in which they ripped up their schedule and older stars including Ken, Steve and Paul were shipped out for younger DJs such as Scott Mills.
The station has found itself at the centre of an ageism storm as commercial rivals playing more music from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s saw their audiences grow by up to a third.
So-called 'Radio 2 refugees' have abandoned the station for Boom Radio - a station aimed at baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 - and Greatest Hits Radio, the new home of Ken Bruce, who will take his beloved PopMaster quiz with him in March.
