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Hits Radio host Leanne Campbell has been left devastated after her popular breakfast show was brutally axed after 22 years this week.
The DJ, who has been at the helm of the station’s local output in Liverpool since 2003, took to Instagram to confirm the sad news but reveled she was as much in the dark about the change as listeners.
Leanne presents the early morning slot with co-host Joel Ross, but will now be replaced later this summer by a national show in a huge shake-up.
In an an emotional post she wrote: ‘I know what you know. Our show will be replaced by a national show’.
‘To every single one of you who has woken up with me in Liverpool for over 22 years, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It has been the greatest privilege to be part of your mornings, to share the laughter, the stories,’
She went on: ‘Our lives and all the moments that have made this job so special THANK YOU!’ Your support has always meant the world to me and without it we wouldn’t have smashed those glass ceilings together.
Hits Radio host Leanne Campbell has been left devastated after her popular breakfast show was brutally axed after 22 years this week
The DJ, who has been at the helm of the station’s local output in Liverpool, took to Instagram to confirm the sad news but reveled she was as much in the dark about the change as listeners
‘What a journey! The scouse ‘travel girl’ is forever grateful for what we achieved! X’.
MailOnline have contacted Hits Radio for comment.
It comes after BBC Radio 2 caused uproar when they axed veteran broadcasters such as Steve Wright in a bid to attract younger listeners.
Now they are under fire again over plans to win back the older audience who had subsequently deserted the station.
Stars at Boom Radio, which was established in 2021 to appeal to those ‘baby boomers’ and is now the UK’s fastest growing commercial station, say Radio 2’s plans for an additional digital service, Radio 2 Extra, are a blatant ‘rip-off’ which threatens their own future.
Boom presenter David ‘Diddy‘ Hamilton, who worked at the BBC for 25 years, last night branded the corporation ‘pathetic’. He told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I think the BBC should be bigger than this.
‘It is still the premier broadcasting organisation in the country and it shouldn’t be abandoning an audience, then finding somebody else who has made a great success of catering for that audience and then want them back. It’s pathetic.’
Phil Riley, co-founder of Boom Radio, which has 750,000 listeners, believes the proposed scheme could sound the death knell for his station.
Leanne (right) presents the early morning slot with co-host Joel Ross (left) but will now be replaced later this summer by a national show in a huge shake-up (Pictured with Mel B, centre)
In an an emotional post she wrote: ‘I know what you know. Our show will be replaced by a national show’
She wrote: ‘To every single one of you who has woken up with me in Liverpool for over 22 years, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
He wants Ofcom to reject the idea and said: ‘There is no question we could go out of business. The BBC plans are literally a rip-off Boom Radio. There is nothing new or innovative about what they are proposing.’
His comments come as radio regulator Ofcom finalises its decision on the BBC’s proposal.
The Mail on Sunday understands Ofcom will make its decision before a BBC board meeting on April 2 – to potentially rubber-stamp it.
Hamilton, 86, said bosses at Radio 2 had made a huge mistake by shedding some older presenters.
He said: ‘We are the radio generation. That was our window to the world but the younger generation have so many other ways of accessing music. They are not listening to the radio.’
Lorna Clarke, the BBC’s director of music, said: ‘Our music extensions allow us to support new music, showcase British talent, resurface performances from our unrivalled archive, and help audiences discover a greater range of music than what’s available on the market.’