My departure from Radio 4’s PM spells doom for BBC, jokes Eddie Mair
Broadcaster and radio presenter Eddie Mair is leaving the BBC after more than 30 years at the corporation.
In his typically wry style, Mair, 52, joked that his departure as the main presenter for Radio 4’s PM news programme would bring doom to the BBC, but a brilliant chance to shine for his successor.
He said: “It’s 31 years since I joined the BBC, 25 years since I first presented PM, and 20 since it became my main gig.
“I thought this was the appropriate moment to step out and give someone else a chance, before I’m so old my sentences make no lasagne.
“I’m going to miss the PM team, and Tony Hall’s aftershave. I realise the BBC will close down without me and there will be a run on the pound, but I can’t stay in an organisation that refused to let me host Songs of Praise. I bought a jacket and everything.
“I’m truly grateful to the BBC, however, for being given more opportunities over the years than I deserved. My apologies to PM listeners for all the things I’ve said that I shouldn’t have,andallthethingsishould have said that I didn’t.
“Whoever comes next will be getting the best job in the BBC and I honestly wish them the very best.”
His last show at the helm of PM will be on 17 August.
Fran Unsworth, director of BBC News, said the hugely popular Mair has had a “fantastic career” at the corporation, adding: “Eddie has delivered outstanding journalism and created a real bond with the audience through his mixture of warmth, incisive questioning and knowing when to listen in order to get the very best out of his guests.
“He is one of the outstanding broadcasters of his generation and his new employer is very lucky to have him.”
Mair was born in Dundee and began his journalistic career at Radio Tay. He joined the BBC in 1987, starting as a sub-editor for Radio Scotland.
He became the sole presenter of PM in 2003, winning a Sony Gold award in 2012 for his interview with Julie Nicholson, who lost her daughter Jenny in the 2005 London bombings.