After nine laughter-filled years Radio 1's Alice Levine has decided to "hang up the headphones" and leave her "gift of a job".
The Beeston-born presenter cut her teeth at MTV before joining the Beeb, a team she calls the "funniest, smartest and most-hardworking".
The 34 year old announced the news of her departure to her 257,000 Instagram followers yesterday (July 15) alongside a collection of throw back snaps.
In a lengthy statement Alice, a former pupil at Alderman White school in Bramcote, thanked her former colleagues for not only believing in her but also patiently standing by while she crashed the vocals and pressed the wrong buttons.
Alice's dad is a retired University of Nottingham lecturer while mum is an artist-turned-caterer. As a teenager she was a regular at The Bodega, Broadway and Wax Bar, before moving to Leeds to study at uni. It was here she met James Cooper and Jamie Morton. The trio went on to create the podcast My Dad Wrote A Porno, which has been downloaded more than 100 million times.
The presenter has not revealed what new projects she will now be working on.
Alice Levine quits BBC Radio 1 - statement in full
I’ve decided it’s the right time for me to hang up the headphones (not a thing) and say goodbye to Radio 1.
It‘s 9 years since I first walked around the old studios at Yalding House and signed up to start piloting for a show. So many big moments have happened since then and I have met friends for life. The team at R1 are the funniest, smartest and most-hardworking. I can’t believe I got to be in the gang for a bit.
Huge thanks to Rhys Hughes who believed I could do a show in the John Peel slot talking about new music even though I said I was mainly listening to Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell (!). To Matt Fincham and Adele Cross who very patiently stood with me whilst I crashed the vocals, pressed the wrong buttons and had a prolonged crisis of confidence in those early off-air days (and beyond!).
Then I somehow managed to bag the very best producers, who shared their immense experience and time - and often their jokes to say as my own!
Let this, my last radio shout out, go to: Stocker, Mel, Tash, Aled, Kate, Ian, Trav, Jenny and Liam. Words can’t do you justice!
With their nurturing, we won a Music Week Best Show Award, we did incredible broadcasts from Glastonbury, the Brits, Big Weekends, sessions at Maida Vale and interviewed some of the most exciting people in movies and music. We’ve also had a dead nice time and hopefully said some things that have made you laugh.
From 10-midnight with Phil, to Weekend PM, then Weekend Breakfast, and now my Fri/Sat/Suns with Dev, I can’t believe how much we’ve packed in...
If you’ve listened to the show or got in touch with one of your amazing stories over the years, I can’t thank you enough. To make jokes all day has just been a gift of a job!
