Chris Moyles talks his shock Radio 1 exit on I’m A Celebrity

Chris Moyles has shared candid details about his shock departure from Radio 1 a decade ago on Monday’s episode of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!.

Speaking to his campmate Matt Hancock, 44, Chris, 48, revealed how he first learned he was given the ax when he was summoned to an urgent meeting.

He claimed he was told at the meeting that they would soon announce that Nick Grimshaw would be taking over his radio show after 15 years, much to his dismay.

Chris furious that he was left “angry” after his sudden departure because they handled it “badly” by giving him only hours’ notice, but admitted: “Everything happens for a reason.”

‘I knew that Radio 1 is an assembly line and you’re there maybe a year or maybe 15 years, but at some point you’re going to fall off,’ Chris began.

Former health secretary Matt commented that “that’s the way politics is,” before asking Chris for more details about his departure.

He claimed that he asked for the chance to reveal his sudden departure himself, continuing: “I left happy, I was a little angry after I left and I was angry … they handled it so badly, so badly.”

“So I went in with my agent and the controller and we sat down and he said, ‘Look, this isn’t very easy, I think it’s about time we wrap up the show. 10 for Nick Grimshaw to take over’.”

Chris said things got heated between the controller and his agent before he decided he wanted to announce himself that he was leaving the radio show.

“I said to the boss, ‘You can’t do that.'” He says, “Well, if we don’t, it will come out.” , I knew nothing about it. So after 15 years that is no longer possible. I need to announce I’m coming off the breakfast show and we need to find out what’s going on.’

He said the next day they ended the show and made the announcement.

“I was like ‘okay, okay.’ But they gave us three months to say goodbye, which was great. So I said, ‘you know, thanks for everything, cheers’.

Chris said he then took a year off from work and went to Los Angeles for a month and soon met his partner, Tiff.

“Yeah, so everything happens for a reason,” he said.

Chris in the Bush Telegraph added: ‘When you do the breakfast show on Radio 1 you get these great opportunities coming your way, but you always know in the back of your mind that there will be a day.’

“So when it was done, to do the musical, to do my own tour and then meet my future girlfriend – that’s when my life completely changed. So no regrets, all happy, it’s been a good journey so far.”

In 2020, Chris hit the BBC station when a number of long-time presenters were suspended.

Chris hosted The Chris Moyles Show on Radio 1 from January 2004 to September 2012, was famously snubbed to make way for new breakfast slot presenter Nick Grimshaw, and has been open about his annoyance at the BBC network’s tendency to ‘drop’ their talent.

Speaking of the news that Dev Griffin, Huw Stephens and Phil Taggart had been suspended, he said: ‘Radio 1 is an assembly line, and at some point you fall off, because of age or because you are no longer relevant.’

As reported by The sun, he said, “The story goes I was too old for the show. I was 38 when they kidnapped us. They recently hired some DJs who were that age.

“The show is yours for a while – it’s like renting a house for a while.”

Speaking to Ross Kemp on his podcast The Kempcast over the summer, Chris – who now hosts Radio X – said of his unceremonious departure from Radio 1: ‘I was a bit miffed that the story doing the rounds was that I was too old and I was fired.

“I knew I wasn’t going to do that show forever. I thought they handled it very badly.

‘When [Grimshaw’s] show failed and the ratings fell, I was like, “Not that easy, right guys?”

‘Not aimed at Nick, but at Radio 1 in general. The show lost a million and a half almost overnight. They didn’t get them back!’

Chris was supposedly berated for “talking too much” on his show, adding, “They had an ad for Nick’s show that read, ‘Now with added music…’, which clearly appealed.” about how much we would talk on the show.

“I was like, OK, the most successful breakfast show you’ve ever had, with the most listeners you’ve had in over a decade, that’s kind of an F you for us and eight million listeners. Okay, fuck you back!’

MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment on this story.

I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here! continues tomorrow at 9.15pm (Tuesday) on ITV and ITV Hub.