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BBC Radio 2 newsreader Tina Daheley has announced that she is leaving her breakfast radio show after 18 years of presenting.
The 45-year-old presenter revealed the news during an emotional moment on Tuesday morning’s Radio 2 Breakfast show with stand-in host Gary Davies.
Her exit comes just days before Sara Cox is due to take over the Radio 2 Breakfast Show as the new permanent host after Scott Mills was sacked in March.
Sharing the news live on air, Tina told her listeners: ‘It’s been a privilege to have had a whole generation of people grow up with me.’
In an Instagram statement she then added: ‘After more than 7 years of early alarm calls on Radio 2, I’m stepping away from Radio 2 Breakfast.’
‘It’s been one of the greatest privileges of my life to wake up with you every morning, and humbling to have been trusted to deliver the news on the biggest breakfast show in Europe.’
The 45-year-old presenter said ‘it’s been one of the greatest privileges’
‘My breakfast run ends at Radio 2, but it all started at 1Xtra, where I landed my dream job reading the news on Trevor Nelson’s Breakfast Show. From there, I spent a decade broadcasting to 1 in 4 young people in the UK on Radio 1.’
‘After 18 years and six back-to-back breakfast shows (probably a record in there somewhere), I’m looking forward to a lie-in.’
She ended her post by ‘wishing Sara and her team the very best of luck. I’ll be tuning in while doing the school run,’ telling her Radio 2 colleagues that her daughter Athena, five, is ‘so excited to have her mummy back’.
Tina also teased a potential new project with the BBC by writing: ‘I’m not leaving Radio 2, you’ll hear me between 12-2pm when Jeremy’s away and you’ll see me on BBC One after the summer. Beyond that, watch this space.’
Responding beneath the post, Zoe – who quit Radio 2 last year – was among many to send a supportive message as she wrote: ‘Love you Tina. Class act darling girl. I can highly recommend the later start to your day.’
Tina first started her Breakfast Radio stint on 1Xtra back in 2007 and told her fans that reading the news was ‘my dream job.’
From there she moved to Radio 1, working with Chris Moyles and Nick Grimshaw on the Breakfast Show as the sports and news presenter.