The show will end in the autumn, the BBC has confirmed, with Radio 1’s Scott Mills taking over. Wright, 67, announced his departure live on air on Friday and said he would remain at the BBC to work on other projects, including a podcast series. He told listeners: “Earlier this year my friend and boss Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said she wanted to do something different in the afternoons. Now, I’ve been doing this program for 24 years on Radio 2, and how can I complain? “The support and creative freedom I’m given is fantastic at Radio 2 and I really can’t hold the slot forever, so let’s give it to someone else.” He added: “The great news is, from now on. I’m staying at the BBC and radio to do some very exciting, brand new digital projects and develop new podcasts, some of which will actually include elements of that Steve Wright in the Afternoon programme. “Anyway, everything will become clear in the coming months, because we’re staying on this schedule until the fall.” Fans will still be able to hear him present Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs on the same station. Steve Wright in the afternoon started on Radio 2 in 1999, relaunching a show he had hosted on Radio 1 from 1981 to 1993. Mills, who Wright described as “brilliant and versatile”, will leave Radio 1 to take up the position and will no longer present his Saturday morning show on Radio 5 live. The new show will be an hour shorter, from 2pm to 4pm, with Sara Cox’s show extended by an hour. “I really can’t believe I’m going to call Radio 2 my new home,” said Mills. “I am very excited to join the team.”
