Claudia Winkleman's BBC replacement in show backlash after shake-up sparks 'sacking' fears
Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman signed off her final show on BBC Radio 2 last month after announcing in December that she was leaving to spend more time with her children.
Romesh Ranganathan said he is prepared for pushback from BBC Radio 2 listeners when he takes over Claudia Winkleman's slot because “people don’t like change”.
There have been several departures from Radio 2 in recent years, with presenters including, Ken Bruce, Vanessa Feltz, having left the BBC station and Steve Wright before his death in February and the late Paul O'Grady.
Comedian and actor Romesh, 46, will step into the 10am to 1pm Saturday slot later this month, after Claudia, 52, stepped down from her show in March after three years having taken over from Graham Norton. However, the Strictly host has been a regular on Radio 2 since 2008.
Addressing his role in a new interview, The Weakest Link presenter admitted his show won't be like Claudia's as he joked about being sacked.
Speaking about how listeners will react to him on the airwaves, he told The Telegraph: “People don’t like change. Some will be annoyed I don’t sound like Claudia.
“Hopefully people get to like it, or they won’t and I’ll get sacked. Either outcome is all right.”
The stand-up, who hosts a hip-hop show on the station on Saturdays, admitted to a mixture of “excitement and nerves” at taking over Claudia's popular slot.
“Obviously I’m excited to take over a big show. But the catastrophising part of you thinks, ‘What if I do this really terribly?’,” he said.
“When you do something weekly like that you become part of the fabric of their week and they get quite into you.
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“I’m not looking to reinvent the format. It won’t be three hours of hip-hop.”
The TV star admitted he had to think about accepting the offer and checked with his wife that it was ok to miss Saturday mornings with their children.
“That was more frictionless than you can imagine. I half suspect that she might have suggested it,” he joked.
He and his wife Leesa have three sons: Theo, 14, Alex, 12, and Charlie, nine.
Romesh also addressed the departure of radio veterans including Ken Bruce, which has resulted in the station seeing a reported drop of a million listeners.
"Radio 2 has made a lot of changes in a relatively short time,” he said. “That makes it feel like the reaction is bigger because people are reacting to more things."
The on-screen star admitted it is a very "competitive" industry but added "things can’t stay the same forever" and the BBC are moving with their listenership.