'Radio 2 refugees' reveal why THEY are turning off BBC's flagship station trends now
BBC Radio 2 listeners got in touch to reveal why they are tuning out, with some saying they felt 'abandoned' by the shake-up which has seen the departure of DJ stalwarts.
Others said the mass exodus of their favourite presenters - including Ken Bruce, Steve Wright and Paul O'Grady - was 'the final straw', as many swap for commercial alternatives which have seen their audiences grow by up to a third.
Listeners David and Joanne Holder from Northampton said: 'I can’t tell you how disappointed we are with the new woke management at Radio 2 and their efforts to get rid of us by trying to attract a younger audience'.
Former loyal listener Nicola McGiff said: 'Without doubt Ken Bruce was the final straw for me, and I made the immediate decision to switch to Greatest Hits Radio.'
Radio 2 fans have accused the BBC of ageism as a string of older DJs step back, including Paul O'Grady, Steve Wright, Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo, replaced by ex-Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills, RuPaul's Michelle Visage, Rylan and DJ Spoony
Her reason for changing airwaves was echoed by others, including Helen Rowe, who said she was 'appalled and mystified when Steve Wright was pushed out'.
She said: 'I have no idea why you would want to axe a show like that. No-one can compete with that so I have just turned off.
'After that I knew that Ken Bruce who I also listened to and think is brilliant wouldn't be far behind. I'll be switching to his new station when he leaves.'
Ian Hunter wrote to MailOnline to say he is 'one of the radio 2 refugees', adding: 'the current line up leaves me cold'.
'The morning show is nothing but empty headed drivel, then you get the one shining joy of Ken Bruce, then it's downhill.
'I am sorry to say Scott Mills is just totally boring and vacuous.
'Greatest Hits Radio is now my station of choice, its presenters are a pleasure to listen to with good music, and guess what most are ex-BBC 2.'
Mia Akin, 71, has been a loyal listener of Paul O’Grady, Steve Wright, Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo for 'many years', but said she had stopped since they departed from the station.
She said she now felt 'abandoned'.
Ms Akin added: 'Boo to the BBC for spoiling the listening pleasure of pensioners like me. There's a lot of us and we've all switched off.'
Radio 2 is still the UK’s most popular station, but its overall weekly audience has fallen by 580,000 to 14.29million.
Breakfast show host Zoe Ball has seen a drop in listeners, while Ken Bruce's listenership is also down - although his show is still the most listened to on the station with 8.2million, according to the radio audience research group Rajar.
Radio 2 has seen a drop of 580,000 weekly listeners as BBC bosses revamp the schedule with new younger DJs replacing older stalwarts such as Ken Bruce
Radio 2's breakfast show, presented by Zoe Ball , was down 359,000 in the last quarter of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021
Radio 2's breakfast show, presented by Zoe Ball, was down 359,000 in the last quarter of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021. However, it is still the most listened to breakfast radio programme, with a weekly audience of 7.1million.
A BBC spokesman said: 'Radio 2 continues to be the UK’s most popular radio station, and we’re hugely proud that Zoe Ball remains the most listened to Breakfast Show in the country.'
Meanwhile brand and culture expert Nick Ede told MailOnline: ‘Radio 2 has a problem in that it had such a loyal listener base that having their stalwart DJs all leave has seen that loyalty means the listeners have gone elsewhere to hear their favourite music and DJs.
‘This is why there has been an increase in listeners on commercial stations targeted for that generation.
'The new Radio 2 DJs are all brilliant household names who have a strong fan base too but the BBC should have peppered their schedule with the older DJs and in doing so kept the old audience and engaged a new one which in turn would have seen an increase in listeners.'
Radio 4's Today programme dropped by 282,000 to 6.1million in the same period. Radio 5 Live's breakfast show also lost around 200,000, down to 1.6million a week.
The figures, published by Rajar, show all the major BBC stations saw a decline in listeners over the past 12 months. Radio 2 lost just over half a million listeners – down 3.9 per cent.
It came as Steve Wright, 68, was replaced in the afternoon slot after 23 years by Radio 1's Scott Mills, 49.
Paul O'Grady, 67, who was at Radio 2 for 14 years, quit his show months after he was forced to share the time slot with comedian Rob Beckett, 37, while Ken Bruce, 71, last month announced his departure after 31 years on the UK's most popular radio programme.
He is moving to Greatest Hits Radio
