Huge BBC Radio 6 shake-up as Lauren Laverne QUITS breakfast show amid cancer battle and replacement revealed
LAUREN Laverne has quit the BBC 6 Music breakfast show in a major station shake-up.
The radio star, 46, who revealed she’d been given the all-clear from cancer in November, is moving to the late morning slot.
Her replacement has been revealed as Nick Grimshaw, who is returning to early morning radio permanently three years after quitting the Radio 1 breakfast show.
Grimmy, 40, has hosted the show for Lauren for the past couple of months as she phased her return to work following her cancer battle.
Lauren appeared as a guest today, telling the audience she’s been through “a tricky time” before thanking them for their support.
She said: “I am coming back to 6 Music, I’m delighted to say, but I’m not coming back to 6 Breakfast.”
Grimmy said: “It’s been such an honour to look after your show Lauren, it really has.”
Lauren then announced: “I’m going to be on after you 10-1, which is really exciting. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Mary Anne Hobbs, who is the current 10am -1pm host, is taking a step back from the station but will return in the late spring with a brand new show.
Lauren described her as “the most wonderful person” and revealed she was the first to congratulate her.
While Grimmy called her “kind and nurturing”.
Lauren will continue to host the legendary Desert Island Discs, which she calls her dream job, after taking over from Kirsty Young in 2018.
Lauren revealed her cancer diagnosis in August, saying it was “caught early and unexpectedly during a screen test”.
She informed followers that she expected to make a full recovery and thanked her colleagues at the BBC for “their support and for giving me the time off that I need to get better”.
The former rocker first shot to fame as lead singer and guitarist of alternative band Kenickie, which she formed at the age of 16 with her brother Peter, known as Johnny X.
The band managed to get four Top 40 singles, a Top 10 album with At The Club, and played Glastonbury.
But it was her banter and interview style on TV that gained them the most notoriety.
Lauren, as well as her bandmates Marie du Santiago and Emmy-Kate Montros, became a regular on music panel quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
They eventually disbanded in 1998 after playing their last concert at the London Astoria, and Lauren pursued a solo career, releasing an EP Take These Flowers Away From Me in 2000 and singing on Mint Royale’s hit Don’t Falter.
But Lauren continued forging a career in TV at the same time, hosting music-led TV shows like Party In The Park and appearing as an expert on a music special of BBC One’s Test The Nation.
She eventually became one of the main presenters for Glastonbury on BBC2.
In 2005, Lauren took over the XFM Breakfast Show, becoming the first woman to host the station’s flagship show.
Since then, the star has appeared on every major British television network.