BBC Radio 2 dealt huge blow after Ken Bruce’s departure and major listener backlash

BBC Radio 2 has been dealt a huge blow after Ken Bruce's departure and a major listener backlash.

Back in January, Ken shocked his adoring Radio 2 audience when he announced he was leaving his mid-morning show.

The 72-year-old had been at the helm of the show since 1986, and his final broadcast aired in March.

Ken has since moved to Greatest Hits Radio, and it seems a large chunk of his listeners has followed him over to his new home.

Official audience data has revealed how BBC Radio 2 has lost more than one million listeners since Ken's departure.

Meanwhile quarterly Rajar figures show his new show reached three million listeners a week between April and June.

carried out analysis of audience figures with the help of radio consultancy Hallett Arendt.

It found that the mid-morning show on Radio 2 attracted 8.3 million listeners during Ken's tenure.

However, since new host Vernon Kay has taken over, the numbers are down to 6.9 million listeners.

Speaking about the figures, Ken told The Guardian: "I’ve always said that it’s not really about the numbers and it’s not, for me at least, but I’m delighted to hear today’s news for the team here at my new home, Greatest Hits Radio.

"My first four months have flown by and I’ve loved every minute of it – and there’s much more to come.”

Part of the key to Ken's success has potentially been down to his popular Popmaster quiz.

While it was a feature on his BBC Radio 2 show, Ken was able to take music quiz with him to Greatest Hits Radio after personally securing the trademark during the 1990s.

While Radio 2 remains the biggest station in the UK, its total weekly audience fell by more than one million listeners to 13.5 million after Bruce's departure.