Roman Kemp has revealed the heartbreaking “real” reason behind his decision to leave Capital FM.
The 31-year-old announced his departure from the radio station in February after hosting the breakfast show for eight years.
Former BBC Radio One host Jordan North has replaced the star.
Roman has now revealed that going to work every day following his colleague and friend’s suicide was getting too difficult.
Joe Lyons, who worked on the show as a producer, committed suicide in August 2020.
The radio host opened up about feeling like he is “living that same day over and over again” every time he goes into the office.
He told the Daily Mirror: “I need this time for myself. I’ve been at that company (Global) for 10 years, on that show for seven now.”
“I’ve tried to spin the plates and tried to do everything and I’ve realised it’s getting in the way of my life. You can’t enjoy your own life.”
“If you think of a radio show, every day you’ve got to go out in front of the public and dance and every now and then you’ve got to give yourself a rest and I’ve not been doing that for myself.”
“It came to that point of ‘I need to leave this behind now’.”
Speaking about the loss of his best friend, Roman said: “It’s to do what happened for me. That sounds wild but I mean it, it’s not normal, imagine a tragedy happened in your house you’re going to want to move.”
Speaking on air at the time of his leaving announcement, he said: “The last like, eight and a half years of my life have just been so incredible being part of this machine.”
View this post on Instagram
“It’s been the funniest, the saddest, the most outright wild time that I’ve had being a part of Capital and the Global family and when you set out to do a job of this magnitude, you never think that one day there will be a moment where you have to say goodbye. You don’t think that that time will come.”
“What I can tell you is I’m not saying goodbye right now, I’m not leaving the show today and that’s it, but it’s not far away.
“It will come and that goodbye will come in five to six weeks. It’s not a decision that has come overnight either, it’s massive, I’ve not found it easy at all.”
“Capital is my family, you as the wonderful listeners that you’ve been, you’ve been with me at my best times and my absolute lowest…”
“Capital and Global have helped changed me. I was 22 years old when I first joined Capital and it’s built me into the man that I am today, it is all that I know. But I know that now is the right time to leave and now is the right time to move on.”
“You listening, and the people in this room, every single person in this room, my producing team, Sian and Chris, Sonny who has done it in the past and Vick Hope who had done it in the past. It’s everyone.”
The next couple of weeks as I kind of approach the end of my time here on Capital, it’s going to be so tough. I love this place so much, I love it.”
“I love the station, I love everything about it, Capital is my family. And I also love the connection that you and I, the listeners, have built together. It’s changed.
“I know that it started out as me being just Martin Kemp’s son, I hope that now you can call me your friend.”
Roman added: “I’ve loved every single moment of my time at Capital. The last 10 years have been amazing and hosting the legendary Capital Breakfast is the best job ever. But after almost seven years of early alarms, I’m looking forward to some lie-ins and it’s time to hand over the baton!
“It’s been a privilege and an honour to wake up millions of people every day. It’s the best job in radio and I’ll miss our listeners and the team at Global lots. Whoever the next host of Capital Breakfast is, they’re in for the most incredible ride.”
