Beloved BBC Radio presenter bids farewell to fans after a whopping 31 years on air

A POPULAR BBC Radio presenter will be saying goodbye for the final time today as he leaves the airwaves for good.

Andrew Peach has worked with the organisation for 31 years and has been at the helm of BBC Radio Berkshire‘s breakfast show for the last 18 years but he has now decided to walk away.

Today marked his final broadcast to listeners, which can be caught via BBC Sounds, as he reflected on his lengthy career with the Beeb.

Andrew started at the local radio station at the age of 19 when he launched the Saturday breakfast slot on the station when it first began broadcasting.

Remarking on a life of early starts, the host joked: “If you’d told me my alarm clock would still be going off at 04:00 to present the Breakfast Show 31 years later, I would not have believed you.”

His illustrious career has seen him interview Prime Minister’s including Theresa May as well as covering the death of the Queen last year as well as the terrible Ladbroke Grove rail crash of 1999.

Just two years ago he picked up a coveted industry award for having the best local radio show in the UK.

Reflecting on his career, Andrew said: “I’ve broadcast from Washington DC, Rome, Prague and Dusseldorf – and I’ve endured the ups and downs of being a Reading FC fan through countless play-off final defeats and our promotion to the Premier League in 2006.

“This job has been the greatest privilege. Daily radio shows like this are, above all, a relationship. A warm and authentic relationship with the audience.

“We’ve chosen to spend time together day after day, month after month, year after year. That relationship is so precious and I know I will miss it desperately.

“The programme has brought people together, applied a bit of pressure here and there and meant that, from time to time, we’ve changed things for the better.”

He ended his lengthy statement by saying: “Although it’s time for me to find some new mountains to climb, I am so grateful to have enjoyed more than 30 years in my dream job.”

Andrew is yet to reveal his plans for the future or if he will be taking up another radio gig elsewhere.

He isn’t the only radio star to decide to quit in recent times.

Over the weekend, The Traitors host Claudia Winkelman confirmed that she would be leaving her BBC Radio 2 show in March of next year.

Comedian and The Weakest Link host Romesh Ranganathan will replace her in the role.

Speaking on her show, Claudia said: “I absolutely love Radio 2 and it’s been a privilege to host the Saturday morning show for three years. I will miss our amazing guests, our brilliant listeners and the one and only Sally Traffic.

“The truth is my children are growing up inordinately fast so I have decided to follow them around at home before they leave for good. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who works on the show, I will continue to visit with badly made biscuits and will pester the bosses to present the odd special.

“I couldn’t be happier that Romesh is taking over Saturday mornings on Radio 2. He is brilliantly laugh out loud funny, and I’ll listen every single week as my kids beg me to leave them alone.”

Elsewhere, BBC Radio 1 revealed that four brand new hosts had landed gigs on their station with the first already on air.