Radio 6 star Tom Ravenscroft will be leaving at the end of May as new ventures, including “being around to do the school run,” beckon.
It comes as BBC Radio 6 shared its spring and summer programming with listeners.
The 45-year-old who is known for presenting New Music Fix Daily with Deb Grant (Mondays – Thursdays, 7-9pm) and The Ravers Hour (Fridays, 11pm-12am) said it’s “been a blast” and “it’s been a tough decision to make” as he steps down from both shows in a few weeks’ time.
Tom Ravenscroft to leave BBC Radio 6 after 16 years
In a post on Instagram, he said: “It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that after 16 years I’m to leave Radio 6 Music at the end of May. New ventures, foreign travels and being around to do the school run beckons.
“It’s been a tough decision to make, I’ve met so many wonderful people as a result of this job and will be forever grateful. You couldn’t ask for a more fabulous community.
“Thanks to everyone who tuned in, sent music, recorded sessions, put together mixes and sent funny emails. It’s been such a treat to have been able to do this job; listening to everyone’s creations, building shows and sharing what I’ve found.
“I’d like to think we all have bigger, better and more interesting record collections as a result of the time we’ve spent together.
“Special thanks to all the producers, assistants, engineers and presenters I’ve worked with over the years. It’s been a ball, thanks for having me.”
Tom’s final New Music Fix Daily show will be Thursday, May 29, and his final edition of The Ravers Hour will be Friday, May 30.
As he confirmed his exit from the popular station, Samantha Moy, head of BBC Radio 6 Music said Tom is “irreplaceable” and “quite simply a 6 Music legend”.
She commented: “On behalf of us all at 6 Music, I want to thank Tom Ravenscroft for his huge contribution to 6 Music over the years – for his work spotlighting formidable electronic artists with his own shows, including the peerless Ravers Hour, as well as shaping the sound of our evenings with New Music Fix Daily and his incredible series, Peel Acres.
“He is quite simply a 6 Music legend: iridescent and irreplaceable – we will all miss him.”
Joining Deb to present New Music Fix Daily from Monday, June 2 (7-9pm) is Nathan Shepherd.
Nathan will continue to present Indie Forever on Fridays (9-11pm), which was recently nominated for an Audio and Radio Industry Award (ARIA) and a New York Festivals Radio Award.
Nathan shared: “All my life I’ve been passionate about new music. Without new music there’s no future in music.
“I’m so excited to be a part of the New Music Fix Daily team and to present alongside the amazing Deb Grant.”
Recommended reading:
Is Tom Ravenscroft John Peel’s son?
Tom is the son of the late BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, who was better known as John Peel.
He was said to be the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until he died of a heart attack in 2004.
