Former BBC legend says he ‘doubts the broadcaster will exist in 10 years’-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro

A BBC legend has predicted the broadcaster may disappear in the next 10 years (Picture: PA)

BBC veteran Bill Rennells has warned that the broadcaster may not last another decade.

The 92-year-old legend, who was the Beeb’s oldest radio presenter before his Harmony Nights show was axed on New Year’s Eve, has hit out at the corporation’s recent moves.

‘I doubt the BBC will exist in 10 years’ time. They keep making so many mistakes,’ he said.

Bill’s call-in programme on BBC Local Radio allowed listeners in Berkshire, Kent and Oxford request their favourite songs.

The show was axed on the very last day of 2023, reportedly not due to budget cuts, and the BBC praised Bill for his ‘commitment, time and energy’, while insisting the show was axed due to ‘audience habits’.

Referencing general cuts across the BBC, he described them as ‘a betrayal of everything [BBC executive] Frank Gillard did to set up that network in the 1960s’.

Bill Rennells’ show Harmony Nights was axed on New Year’s Eve (Picture: BBC)

Speaking to The Times, he added: ‘It’s easy to say of [director general Tim Davie] and crew, ‘They know not what they do’. However, I think they do.’

Bill, who previously labeled the decision to axe his show as ‘cruel’, had worked at the BBC for over 40 years before his departure, first joining as a news producer at Radio Oxford in 1970.

He recalled his early days when some people in national radio looked down on their colleagues on local stations.

Bill first started at the Beeb in 1970 (Picture: Don Smith/Radio Times/Getty Images)

He said: ‘Having worked in both sectors, I know the contempt with which a lot of national radio people hold local radio. When I first arrived at BBC Oxford, someone rang me up and said: “How are you getting on in s*** local radio?”

‘That was typical actually, but what these people never realise is the wonderful community feel that you don’t get elsewhere – even if it’s just reading out a list of schools that have been closed due to bad weather.’

He saw that community, both from his own experiences and stories from co-workers, including one woman who ‘had given up on life both mentally and physically’.

He has been vocal about the cuts (Picture: Jeremy Grayson/Radio Times/Getty Images)

After telling her doctor about the pride she felt for her home city of Nottingham, the GP put on BBC Radio Nottingham and ‘she suddenly rallied,’ Bill said.

The presenter had a feeling of ‘disbelief’ when he was told Harmony Night was being cancelled, describing its costs as ‘paperclips compared to what they spend in TV’.

He claimed: ‘The underlying thing is that they don’t value local radio at all. They are getting rid of everyone’s favourite presenters.’

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