Ken Bruce has revealed that he “struggles” with how his workday hours will change after leaving the BBC.
The veteran Scottish radio presenter, 72, had the last day of his Radio 2 mid-morning slot – which aired from 9.30am to 12am for more than 30 years – in March before moving to Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio on Monday.
His new show airs from 10am to 1pm and features PopMaster, which Bruce has taken over from the BBC for trademarking the long-standing segment, and hit songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s.
The popular radio quiz is still broadcast simultaneously from 10:30 pm to 10:50 pm.
When asked if there are any adjustments he’s had to make since moving to Bauer, Bruce said, “I’m struggling to work out my day.
New venture: Ken Bruce has revealed he is ‘struggling’ with how his working day hours will change after leaving the BBC
New show: The Scottish radio presenter, 72, had the last day of his Radio 2 slot – which aired from 9.30am to 12am for more than 30 years – in March before moving to Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio on Monday (pictured in 2019 )
“I think I’ll go to bed an hour later because I just have to cram everything into the remaining hours of the day.
“Once I get my body clock, good. I think it will be fine, but I love to lie in bed half an hour longer every morning.’
The radio DJ added that he will be “looking for lunch” at 12.30pm when he is on air and joked that there will be a “problem with the microphones” during this time.
He also said his new radio show will be “much the same” after leaving the BBC and that he has no plans to introduce “massive great bells and whistles” to the format.
Bruce added, “It’s just going to be fun stuff to keep people engaged, to get people to listen and participate in the show, it’s just going to be the same as before, just in a different place.”
After joining BBC Radio Scotland in his thirties in 1977, he went on to appear on several other shows with the company.
When asked how he felt about moving a workplace after more than 40 years, Bruce said: ‘Well I have a lot of friends who are still in the BBC who have worked for the BBC for a long time, and yet I have I’m very, very warm to the BBC.
‘I think it’s a great organisation. It was just about time for me to leave and now… it’s been several weeks and I’m really looking forward to doing a month or two, maybe a year or two, maybe a decade or two on Greatest Hits Radio.’
Details: His new show will air from 10am to 1pm and will feature PopMaster, which Bruce has taken over from the BBC for trademarking the long-standing segment
Habits: The radio DJ added that he’s “looking for lunch” at 12:30pm when he’s on air and joked that there will be a “problem with the microphones” during this time
Bruce said he also has “plans” to expand into other avenues before adding that he’s not as young as he “used to be.”
The BBC announced that Sounds Of The 80s presenter Gary Davies will present the morning show from March until TV presenter Vernon Kay takes over Bruce’s Radio 2 slot at a future date.
Bruce said he was seen as ‘the young pretender’ when he first ran the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, succeeding ‘the great’ Sir Terry Wogan in 1985.
He added, “I got quite a bit of criticism, but you just have to get through it and people are always comparing something they’ve been listening to for a long time with something that’s brand new and they’re not familiar with.”
Going further, after joining BBC Radio Scotland in his thirties in 1977, Bruce said of the BBC: ‘I’m still very, very warm to the BBC. I think it’s a great organization. It was just time for me to leave’
Bruce later moved to mid-morning in 1986 and after a brief stint of late nights and early mornings, he returned to mid-morning in January 1992.
He added: ‘I don’t give advice to other broadcasters, (Sir Terry) refused to give me any advice…I asked him for it, he wouldn’t do it.
“So I don’t think I need to give advice, but this will pass is all I can ever say… if it doesn’t go as well as you’d like it to, it will get better soon.” Don’t worry, keep going.’
Bruce on Greatest Hits Radio airs weekdays from 10am to 1pm.