[Archive 2012-09-16] Chris Moyles departs from BBC Radio 1 breakfast show

Historical archive — originally published 2012-09-16. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Radio personality Chris Moyles presented his last edition of The Chris Moyles Show, a breakfast radio programme on UK station BBC Radio 1, from 0630 to 1000 BST (0530 to 0900 UTC) Friday. At its peak in 2010, the programme was receiving an audience of 7.9 million.

Moyles, who had been presenting the breakfast show since January 2004, announced his departure in July. Moyles said he had had "the best time of [his] life" and wished to "give [the listeners] a heads up and tell [them] that we are going to wrap it up" on his show on July 11.

The first song played on the last show was 'Blind Faith' by Chase & Status featuring Liam Bailey. The last was Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida'.

Moyles, who has referred to himself as the 'saviour of Radio 1', broke the record for the longest-running breakfast show on Radio 1 in September 2009, surpassing Tony Blackburn's record from September 1967 to June 1973. The Chris Moyles Show has also achieved two Sony Awards. From later this month, Moyles is to portray the role of Herod in a UK tour of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

At the time of Moyles' departure being announced in July, Cooper was reportedly placed under pressure to try and decrease the age demographic of the audience of Radio 1. Having been told the station should attempt to broadcast primarily to individuals aged between 15 and 29 by a BBC Trust review in 2009, a separate review by the body in June 2012 found too many of its listeners were over the age of 30.

Cooper described Grimshaw as a "great broadcaster with a passion for music and a mischievous sense of humour" back in July and believed he would be an "excellent" replacement for Moyles, "bringing a new generation of listeners with him."

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