Jonathan Ross confirms he is to quit BBC
Jonathan Ross confirms he is to quit BBC
Thursday, 07, Jan 2010 05:08
By Lewis Bazley.
Television and radio presenter Jonathan Ross has announced he is to quit the BBC, it has emerged.
The Film 2010 host's current three-year expires in July and it was thought he was likely to take a pay cut as part of BBC budget restructuring.
But Ross has since said in a statement he is to leave the corporation after 13 years.
"Although I have had a wonderful time working for the BBC and am very proud of the shows I have made while there, over the last two weeks I have decided not to renegotiate when my current contract comes to an end," Ross said in a statement.
He stressed he had not been involved in new contract talks with the broadcaster and said the decision was "not financially motivated".
He added: "I signed my current contract with the BBC having turned down more lucrative offers from other channels because it was where I wanted to be and - as I have said before - would happily have stayed there for any fee they cared to offer, but there were other considerations."
The father-of-three concluded: "I love making my Friday night talk show, my Saturday morning radio show and the Film programme, and will miss them all. I look forward to continuing work on these shows until the Summer, and I will continue hosting the Bafta Film Awards, Comic Relief and other BBC specials."
A high-profile user of microblogging site Twitter, 49-year-old Ross had initially not confirmed the reports but did allude to possible news in the near future.
Writing on Thursday morning, he posted: "Good morning. My day is turning out to be far more interesting then I had anticipated! See you later - have a good one."
He later said he was due to spend his morning sledging with his children before responding to comments from his followers by saying: "Thanks for all the kind words about my decision. I feel sad that i can't keep making the shows so many of you love!"
Ross was infamously suspended from the corporation for three months in 2008 after he and Russell Brand left offensive voicemails for veteran actor Andrew Sachs on Brand's Radio 2 show.
Ross' BBC salary, rumoured to be worth around £6 million a year, had been widely criticised in the wake of the so-called 'Sachsgate' scandal and it emerged on Wednesday that his position at the BBC could be in jeopardy when fellow chat show host Graham Norton agreed a lucrative two-year deal.
It is believed Norton could take over Ross' Friday night talk show slot while Culture Show presenter and film critic Mark Kermode has also been linked with hosting Film 2010.
Stand-up comedian Michael McIntyre could also benefit from Ross' departure, with the BBC thought to be grooming the Live at the Apollo host into one of its leading performers.