Reverend Richard Coles is ‘frustrated’ and’sad’ over how his BBC Radio 4 exit was handled after 12 years on the air.
The 60-year-old minister is leaving Saturday Live, which he co-hosts with presenter Nikki Bedi, after the BBC decided to move the show from London to Cardiff.
Coles’ final programme will be coming Saturday, March 25, but the broadcaster didn’t make a statement about it until five days before his last episode, and the radio host acknowledges it ‘feels a little bit hurried’.
‘If you leave a programme after 12 years, a gentler process would have been nice. But what happens happens,’ he said.
‘It just feels a little bit rushed. It’s been frustrating for me having to wait for an announcement, and now it’s my last programme on Saturday. I’d rather have had a longer goodbye to listeners.
‘It just feels a bit sad. I’m sorry to go; I’ve loved the programme, I’ve loved the people I’ve worked with, and it’s been a big part of my life. I shall miss it,’ he told The Guardian newspaper.
He also expressed regret that the show could not continue in London, where he feels it was “doing really well.”
The former Communards musician-turned-broadcaster and novelist claimed he would have ‘liked’ that the show continue in London, which he thought ‘would be better’ since it had ‘gone from strength to strength’.
‘Moving it to Cardiff, I’m not sure how that works, but it’s not my choice; that’s the decision of others.’
The Strictly Come Dancing judge also stated that while he and Bedi ‘love’ performing the program, it’s a shame it can’t continue in the shape it’s been in for a long time, which works and pleases listeners.
In his original statement, shared by the BBC, he said: ‘After more than a decade on Saturday Live the time has come to do something different, spend some time on other projects and get my weekends back.
‘I’ve loved my stint on the programme, my wonderful colleagues, guests and listeners, and most of all hearing people’s stories – catnip for a nosey man. I look forward to reappearing on the network in the future and wish the best to Nikki as Saturday Live continues.’
Coles’ decision to leave the show occurred weeks earlier, after the BBC decided to transfer it to Cardiff as part of a larger strategy to shift certain critical positions and programming out of London.
It’s part of the Across the UK initiative, which was unveiled in 2021, to make the company more representative of the country as a whole.
A BBC spokesperson told the publication: ‘Richard has been brilliant on Saturday mornings and very much continues to be part of the Radio 4 family.
‘We look forward to working with him on future projects.’
Source My Celebrity Life.
