I’m A Celebrity: Chris Moyles shares how Radio 1 ‘badly’ handled replacing him with Nick Grimshaw
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Chris Moyles has spoken openly about being told he had lost his Radio 1 breakfast show and was to be replaced by Nick Grimshaw.
The Radio X presenter, 48, from Leeds told his I’m A Celebrity campmate about his shock exit from the station after 15 years.
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Hide AdChris Moyles spoke candidly to MP Matt Hancock, 44, about how he was called into an urgent meeting just an hour before the announcement was made.
He revealed that during the meeting he was told that the station would imminently announce that Nick Grimshaw would be taking over the breakfast show.
Chris Moyles opened up that he was left ‘cross’ by the sudden announcement that he was losing his show and said that Radio 1 handled the situation ‘badly’.
Chris began presenting the show in 2004 and presented the show for eight years, making him the longest serving presenter to hold the slot.
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Hide AdThe now Radio X breakfast host then said: “Everything happens for a reason.”
Chris then shared: “I knew that Radio 1 is a conveyor belt and you might be there for a year or you might be there for 15 years, but you’re going to fall off the end at some point.”
To which Matt Hancock replied: “Politics is like that.” before asking the radio presenter for more details.
Chris Moyles said that although the meeting was sudden, he left the station happy by adding: “I was a bit cross after I left and I was cross… they handled it so badly, so badly.”
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Hide AdThe radio presenter shared his experiences with being told he was losing his show, telling the former health secretary: ‘So I went in with my agent and the controller and we sit down and he goes, "Look, this isn’t very easy, I think it’s time we wrapped the show up. We’re going to announce in the news at half 10 that Nick Grimshaw’s taking over".’
He then added: ‘Then my agent went “that’s out of order” and it all got a bit steamy and I’m there like “both of you calm down, stop.”
‘I said to the boss, “You can’t do that” and he goes, “well if we don’t do that, it’ll get out.” and I said, ‘Well up until 60 seconds ago, I didn’t know about it. So, after 15 years, you can’t do that. I have to announce that I’m coming off the breakfast show and we have to work out what’s happening.’
Chris then shared that he was then allowed to make the announcement to his listeners the following day.
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Hide AdHe said: ‘I was just like, ‘’Okay, alright." But, they gave us three months to say goodbye, which was great. So I said, ‘’you know, thanks for everything, cheers".’
The radio presenter then told Matt Hancock how he took a year off of work and went to live in Los Angeles for a month, where he met his long term girlfriend Tiffany Austin.
Chris said: “Yeah, so everything happens for a reason.”
Speaking later to the Bush Telegraph, Chris Moyles added: “When you do the breakfast show on Radio 1 you get these amazing opportunities coming your way, but you always know in the back of your head, one day that will finish.”
‘So when it did finish, to do the musical, to do my own tour, and then meet my future girlfriend - then my life changed entirely. So, no regrets, all happy, it’s been a good journey so far.’
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