LEGENDARY disc jockey Tony Blackburn has announced he is quitting his BBC Radio Berkshire programme after 12 years.
His final show will be broadcast on Sunday, March 24.
It won’t be the end of Tony on the airwaves – he will continue to present the BBC Radio 2 shows Sound of the Sixties and his Golden Hour. He is also continuing to tour with his stage show based on his love of sixties music.
The broadcaster started off broadcasting on the pirate radio station Caroline, before becoming the first voice heard on BBC Radio 1 when it launched in 1968. When the station celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018, he recreated the launch of the station live on air, in a simulcast between BBC Radio 1 and 2.
He has also had an extensive television career, including presenting many editions of the music programme Top of the Pops, and was winner of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here on ITV.
It was a bit of a coup for Radio Berkshire to sign the veteran presenter, initially as a host of its Friday morning programme which included a focus on arts and leisure events happening in the county.
However, in recent years, he has been broadcasting on Sunday afternoons in the slot formerly home to the popular Irish Eye programme, which ended when schedules were adjusted at the start of the covid pandemic.
Last autumn, the BBC axed all weekend local radio programmes aside from sport, meaning that Mr Blackburn’s show was broadcast on BBC Radio Solent and Oxford as well as podcast on BBC Sounds.
Announcing his decision to step down, he told his followers on the social media network that everyone still calls Twitter that the door was still open to him doing more programmes for local radio in the future.
He wrote: “Hi there, just wanted to let you know that I have decided to end my @BBCLOCALRADIO Sunday afternoon show that goes out on @BBCBerkshire @BBCOxford @BBCRadioSolent and @BBCSounds
“My last show will be on March 24th. I have been a part of the Berkshire line up since 2012 and have loved doing the show bringing music from the 50s up to the present day. I have loved the callers and the fun we’ve had.
“At some stage I might come back to BBC Local Radio but, for now, I’m going to focus on my @BBCRadio2 shows, Sounds Of The Sixties and the Golden Hour, and my theatre tour which comes back in March.”
Bosses say for his final month of shows, Mr Blackburn will continue to bring his unique blend of conversation and music from across the decades mixing new releases and old favourites from his personal collection.
His local radio executive producer John Baish said: “Having Tony as part of the local radio family in the south of England has been a lot of fun over the last 12 years, and he’s introduced us all to some wonderful music along the way.
“Across all the programmes he’s presented in that time, he’s shown us week after week why he’s a master of his craft, and one of the nicest people you could hope to meet.
“We wish him all the best with his stage show and everything else he does and we do hope to work together again in future.”
Mr Blackburn’s decision to step down follows a culling of popular presenters, and a decision from breakfast DJ Andrew Peach to leave the station.
The latest listening figures, announced earlier this month, showed that the changes, which include no Berkshire-only programme after 2pm on weekdays, and some programmes broadcast from Salford, have seen people hit the off switch with a drop of 31,000 listeners – a reduction of 31% and the biggest in the country.
The station had a reach 159,000 in the first quarter in 2018, and 105,000 people in the third quarter of 2023. However, it ended last year with a reach of 73,000.
A BBC Spokesperson told Reading Today: “It has been a period of significant change across our local radio network but it is too early to make any links between the latest RAJAR figures and our new schedules.”
