Final BBC Radio Leeds show

5th November 2023

A few folk have pointed out the irony of my radio career finishing on the television! My final show at Radio Leeds, at least as a member of BBC staff, was from 6 to 10am on Sunday 5th November. That was the day before new schedules started involving, in the case of the weekend breakfast shows I’d presented in West Yorkshire for five and a half years, one show broadcasting to North, South and West Yorkshire. I decided earlier this year not to apply for any of the new presenter roles on offer, but instead to ask for voluntary redundancy (which I’ve been given). It was therefore my decision to leave the organisation I’d joined in 1989 as a 22 year old. I spent 30 of my 34 years on air at BBC Radio Leeds. Probably unsurprisingly it was a hugely emotional time for me. Radio has been a passion since I was a teenager, and this has never just been a job - every show (and I don’t mean this to sound cheesy) was a pleasure to present and a privilege I hope I never took lightly. What I’d not bargained for was a) how emotional our lovely listeners would be and b) the generosity of my friends and colleagues. My other half Cathy couldn’t stand the thought of me finishing the final programme and walking out into the deserted newsroom (there are never many folk around at 10 on a Sunday morning!). So, with the help of a fabulous friend at work, Emma, they cooked up a plan. How they all kept it a secret is beyond me, but I walked out to find close on 50 people waiting, including my now 23 year old daughter whose birth was announced on the 2pm news back in May 2000. After cheers and tears we went upstairs for tea, coffee and cake - decorated wonderfully like a broadcasting mixing desk! And what about the the link to television? Well I woke up from my Sunday toddler nap later that day to a flurry of messages: “We’ve just seen you on BBC Look North”! Amanda Harper gave this man with a face for radio an appearance, on his final radio day, on the telly!