There’s more from Humphrys – on Classic FM
JOHN HUMPHRYS will return to the airwaves when he joins Classic FM to guest present the breakfast show this month.
The veteran broadcaster will stand in for regular host Tim Lihoreau to take the helm of the More Music Breakfast programme from Monday.
The move follows his departure from the Today programme on Radio 4 last month, signalling the end of his 32-year BBC news career.
Classic FM said it was welcoming one of Britain’s bestknown and most distinguished broadcasters to its presenter line-up for a “very different” breakfast show. Humphrys will swap berating politicians with three hours of classical music during his short time with the station, expected to last until Nov 1.
For fans and critics alike, the show has been promised to be a “more relaxing and calmer programme than the one Humphrys presented on BBC Radio 4”.
Humphrys said: “I’m struggling to think of a greater contrast with my old job: the bliss of Beethoven and Brahms instead of Brexit and backstops! Maybe there really is another world out there!”
Sam Jackson, Classic FM’S senior managing editor, said: “John Humphrys is one of this country’s genuinely iconic broadcasters.
“For more than 30 years, millions of people have woken up to him every morning, so we are thrilled that John will now be hosting a very different breakfast programme on Classic FM.
“It’s a privilege to welcome him to the UK’S biggest classical music station and I know that our listeners will really enjoy tuning in next week.”
The 76-year-old presenter joined the Today programme in 1987 after a career as a foreign correspondent and presenter of the Nine O’clock News.
Humphrys, who had joked that he “should have gone sooner”, interviewed two former prime ministers for his final Today programme on Sept 19, when he spoke to Tony Blair and David Cameron.
Signing off, he told listeners: “Today matters for tomorrow. If that’s a rather corny way to end my years on the programme, well, so be it. And that’s it from me.”