Rob Beckett to leave Radio 2 show as Zoe Ball returns for weekly programme
He will continue to appear on the station as a cover presenter.
Rob Beckett will step down from his BBC Radio 2 slot as Zoe Ball returns to the station for a weekend programme.
Comedian Beckett, 39, will continue to appear on the station as a cover presenter after he leaves his Sunday 5pm to 7pm slot in April.
Beckett said: “I’ve had such a laugh each Sunday getting to know the listeners, but as my tour schedule hots up and my family forget what I look like, I’ve decided to step away from a weekly show.
“But you won’t get away from me that easily as I’ll be back presenting shows on Radio 2 later in the year when normal service is resumed.”
Ball left her Radio 2 breakfast show at the end of last year, and Scott Mills took over in January.
On Tuesday, the BBC said from May the 54-year-old radio DJ and presenter will host a new weekly show, from 1pm to 3pm on Saturdays.
This will mean that Mark Goodier’s Pick Of The Pops, currently broadcast from 1pm to 3pm on Saturdays, will move to Sundays, and air from 5pm to 7pm.
Ball will also host two specials, including a BBC TV show celebrating Elaine Paige’s 60-year career in showbusiness with a concert.
Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: “Zoe is one of the UK’s most loved presenters, so I’m thrilled to announce that she has a new home on Radio 2 on Saturday lunchtimes, plus she’ll be hosting various specials for us throughout the year.”
In a schedule shake-up TV presenter Paul O’Grady shared his Radio 2 Sunday afternoon slot with Beckett.
O’Grady, who died in March 2023, left in 2022 after more than a decade on the show.
