Graham Norton admitted the BBC is still his "perfect TV home", but he is to depart his Radio 2 show next month.

Graham Norton

Graham Norton

The 'Eurovision Song Contest' host has fronted his radio show since October 2010, and while he will be leaving the programme following his final show on Saturday December 19, 2020, he will still be working with the corporation on his small screen projects, such as his self-titled chat show.

He said: "Obviously I’m sad to be stepping away from my Radio 2 show. I’ll miss being a part of the Wogan House family, as well as the listeners and their lives. I’d like to thank my producer Malcolm Prince and all the teams I’ve worked with for a great decade of radio. Happily with the chat show, Eurovision and Drag Race, the BBC continues to be my perfect TV home."

Charlotte Moore, Chief Content Officer, added: "Graham Norton will be hugely missed on Saturday mornings on Radio 2, he is a first class broadcaster but I’m thrilled he’s committed to continuing to be a regular fixture on the BBC as the host of his hugely popular and award-winning 'The Graham Norton Show', the BBC’s coverage of 'Eurovision' and 'Drag Race UK'."

As part of his show, Graham interviewed a number of fellow celebrities - including the likes of Kylie Minogue, J.K. Rowling, David Tennant and Tina Turner - and played an entertaining mix of music.

Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, said: "For the past decade, Graham has made Saturday mornings his own on Radio 2.  His sparkling interviews, as well as his brilliant shows from the Eurovision host city each May, have kept millions of listeners entertained each week.  

"On behalf of the Radio 2 listeners, and everyone in Wogan House, we’d like to thank him and wish him the very best of luck for the future."

In September 2019, Graham admitted he was planning to strip back his work commitments.

The 57-year-old presenter said: "What I might try to do is just cut back on my workload. We are on air right now 35 to 36 weeks a year. So if I cut that down, maybe lob ten weeks off it, then I think that would be ideal. Then I would be able to stare at a wall, write a book, walk the dogs.

"What's odd is, when you stop working you become a teenage girl. You start obsessing about minutiae. I don't want to turn into that person."


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