Ken Bruce: The BBC is too slow and needs people with vision

The former Radio 2 stalwart says he worries about the corporation’s future direction

Ken Bruce has said the BBC is slow to react and needs “people with vision” to get it back on track.
The former Radio 2 DJ left in March 2023, tweeting that while he had intended to fulfil his contract, the BBC had “decided it wants me to leave earlier”.
The 73-year-old has now expressed concern about the broadcaster, telling The Times: “I do worry for the future of the BBC. 
“I think it needs to watch where it is going… It’s a slow organisation to turn around, like a supertanker. It needs people with vision to make sure it goes the right way.”
Bruce hosted his Radio 2 mid-morning show for three decades before joining Greatest Hits Radio, taking the PopMaster quiz with him.
Since joining, Bruce has added 1.6 million listeners to his slot on the commercial station.
Vernon Kay, his Radio 2 replacement, has lost listeners, though his show continues to be the UK’s most popular radio programme, with 6.9 million listeners.
Greatest Hits Radio now attracts 7.5 million weekly listeners, which is a 30 per cent increase from the 5.8 million average a year ago.
Bruce said: “Commercial radio is really healthy; it is growing.”
“And I just think it’s difficult to reinvent something [the Radio 2 schedule] that has been successful for many years.”
The BBC’s share of the time people spend listening to radio in the UK has fallen to a post-pandemic low.
Bruce revealed he felt aggrieved at being bumped from his successful mid-morning show to late night obscurity.
He said: “I thought, I haven’t done anything wrong here and it’s all working. It was a political decision”
Looking at the current state of radio broadcasting, Bruce took issue with younger DJs making the airwaves about themselves.
He said: “I think some younger people in broadcasting, less experienced people, can say: ‘They want to hear me talk about myself.’ 
“And that’s not necessarily true. It’s not about what you say, it’s about what you don’t say, on radio.”