Nick Grimshaw quits Radio 1 after 14 years, BBC confirms

Broadcaster said he had been ‘thinking of his future’ over the last few months

Nick Grimshaw during Radio 1’s Big Weekend in 2014 (PA)

Nick Grimshaw has quit BBC Radio 1 after 14 years, the corporation has confirmed.

Grimshaw’s usual slot on the station will be replaced by a new show fronted by Vick Hope and Jordan North.

In a statement, Grimshaw announced that he had been “thinking about [his] future” and wished to move on.

“My childhood dream was to work on Radio 1 and I have been lucky enough to make that dream come true,” Grimshaw said. “It has been everything I’d imagined and even more. I grew up wanting to connect with people and to feel accepted and the Radio 1 listeners gave me that and let me be part of their daily life, for which I will be eternally grateful.

“But over the last few months I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my future and after 14 years, I’ve made the decision that it’s time for me to move on - I’d like to thank the listeners as without them none of this could have been possible and the Radio 1 family, who have been such a huge part of my life. Thank you thank you thank you.”

Grimshaw had hosted the “drivetime” slot on BBC Radio 1 since 2018, following six years in the station’s breakfast slot. Grimshaw replaced Chris Moyles, but subsequently garnered headlines due to plummeting listening figures during his tenure on the show.

In 2017, station controller Ben Cooper defended Grimshaw’s listening numbers, insisting that the station was still “the most relevant youth brand in the UK”.

Aled Haydn Jones, the current controller of Radio 1, praised Grimshaw in a statement.

“Grimmy has given everything to Radio 1 over the past 14 years and he is loved by all of us who’ve had the pleasure to work with him,” Haydn Jones said. “He helped to define Radio 1’s young audience, is always supremely entertaining on air, and is an incredible radio talent. We wish him all the best but most of all – thank you!”

Outside of radio, Grimshaw has served as a judge on ITV’s The X Factor and in early 2021 appeared on The Great British Bake Off Stand Up for Cancer.