Claudia Winkleman to step down from BBC Radio 2 next year

Claudia Winkleman announced she is stepping down as host of her Saturday morning BBC Radio 2 show next year.

She has spent three years presenting the programme from 10am to 1pm each weekend, however announced on today's (December 2) episode that she will present her last show in March 2024. It is understood that comedian and actor Romesh Ranganathan will take over Winkleman's timeslot in April.

Ranganathan currently hosts his own show on the station from midnight to 1am each Saturday. Speaking on her show today, Winkleman said it had been a "privilege" to host on Saturday mornings.

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She added: "I absolutely love Radio 2 and it’s been a privilege to host the Saturday morning show for three years. I will miss our amazing guests, our brilliant listeners and the one and only Sally Traffic.

“The truth is my children are growing up inordinately fast so I have decided to follow them around at home before they leave for good. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who works on the show, I will continue to visit with badly made biscuits and will pester the bosses to present the odd special.”

She added that she "couldn't be happier" for Ranganathan to take over her Saturday morning slot. "He is brilliantly laugh-out-loud funny, and I’ll listen every single week as my kids beg me to leave them alone," she said.

Ranganathan said: “In my many years working as a maths teacher thinking ‘what would happen if I gave this up’, I never imagined I’d be sandwiched between Dermot O’Leary and Steve Wright on the UK’s most popular radio station every