A radio icon has revealed the “real” reason Roman Kemp is leaving Capital FM.
The 31-year-old announced his departure from the radio station on Monday, after hosting the breakfast show for eight years.
It was recently announced that former BBC Radio One host Jordan North will replace the star.
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Former Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw has now told The Mirror: “He’s smashed it. He’s done breakfast for what, seven years? I saw him not so long ago and he said ‘Mate…. so tired’.”
Nick knows all too well the demands of hosting an early morning show for a national broadcaster, having spent six years on Radio 1.
He continued: “It’s the dream job but you have to totally commit to it. I loved Breakfast so much, but you probably physically can’t do it forever and you shouldn’t do forever.”
“It’s fun, but it’s intense to be up and at ’em every day. Roman is always on the telly too, so goodness knows how he did it!”
Speaking on air earlier this week, an emotional Roman confirmed he will officially leave the station in six weeks.
He said: “The last like, eight and a half years of my life have just been so incredible being part of this machine.
“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.”
