Simon Mayo has said it was surprising that the BBC let Ken Bruce continue broadcasting his Radio 2 show after announcing his departure to a rival station.
Bruce will host his last BBC show on Friday after it was axed one month early amid concerns that it was essentially free advertising for his new show.
Bruce, 71, announced in January that he was leaving Radio 2 after 31 years to join Greatest Hits Radio (GHR).
Mayo, who left Radio 2 in December 2018 and later joined GHR, told Roger Bolton’s Beeb Watch podcast it was surprising that Bruce’s show remained on air as long as it did.
“The situation has been handled badly,” he said. “I think what’s surprising is that it lingered as long as it did. If you’re on social media, the Greatest Hit Radio Twitter icon is Ken Bruce.”
He added: “Ken is an advert for Greatest Hits Radio now so I can understand why they might have thought we need to hasten these things. It’s unfortunate because it does feel messy. I can imagine in commercial radio he might have been out the door sooner.”
