BBC blasted by Ken Bruce after 'disappointing' treatment following decades of feeling 'under-appreciated'

He had been set to leave at the end of March, but his departure was fast tracked by the BBC once he made clear his intentions to leave.

"I’m a little bit disappointed by that, I have to say," Bruce told the Radio Times.

"Because I thought that, after 45 years, I could be trusted to do the right thing for the next few weeks.

"But obviously it’s up to them. It’s their choice."

The handling of his departure was just one in a number incidents that left Bruce feeling unappreciated over a number of decades at the broadcaster.

He said: "There were times when I felt I wasn’t really noticed by either the BBC itself or some listeners.

"So I thought: ‘I’m going to make these people appreciate me’."

He added: "There were times when all the publicity was about other presenters, people who were off the telly, and I wasn’t mentioned at all.

"I was just an afterthought. And I thought: ‘Well, I just want to make these people realise that I’m doing quite a good job’."

Bruce first joined the BBC in 1977 and took on his first regular slot on Radio 2 in 1984.

He hosted his regular weekday mid-morning show for a total of 31 years from 1992 until he left earlier this year to take on a job at Greatest Hits Radio.

"I probably wanted to prove a few things to myself, and maybe to some other people, about my worth on Radio 2," he said candidly explaining the decision.

Lorna Clarke, director of BBC Music, described Bruce as "an extraordinary broadcaster with an exceptional career over many decades" when he first announced his departure.

She added: "He has been part of every significant occasion marked by BBC Radio 2 and we, his faithful audience and the Radio 2 all-star line-up will miss his warm humour and wit."