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Phoebe Fuller

I'm a Celeb's Chris Moyles drops BBC Radio 1 exit bombshell to Matt Hancock

On tonight's episode of I'm a Celeb, Chris Moyles revealed how he was asked to leave his Radio 1 show back in 2012. Talking to Matt Hancock about his BBC departure, Chris said that it was not handled very well.

Chris had worked for BBC Radio 1 for 15 years, with nine of those at the helm of the Breakfast Show. But, 10 years ago, his tenure came to an end as Nick Grimshaw took over the coveted breakfast spot.

Now, Chris has revealed exactly how he was told about the takeover - admitting that things "got a bit steamy". He said that the end of his time at the station left him feeling "a bit cross", because it was handled "so badly".

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Chris said that the show's controller pulled him and his agent aside one day and revealed that they were replacing him. He told Matt Hancock during tonight's I'm a Celeb episode: "We sit down and he [the show's controller] goes 'look, this isn't very easy. I think it's time we wrap the show up. We're going to announce in the news at 10.30 that Nick Grimshaw is taking over'.

"And my agent went 'that's out of order' and it all got a bit steamy and I'm like 'both of you calm down'. And I said to the boss 'you can't do that', and he goes 'well, if we don't do that it'll get out'. I said 'well, up until 60 seconds ago I didn't know about it, so after 15 years you can't do that.'"

Chris then revealed that he was expected to announce the news of his own departure. Eventually, the announcement was made at the 10.30am news slot the following morning, at the end of Chris' breakfast show.

Listening intently to Chris' tale, Matt Hancock could not believe what he was hearing. He even compared the way that Chris' departure was handled to the way that these sort of decisions are made in politics.

As Chris compared Radio 1 to a "conveyor belt", one that you might be on for "a year or 15" Matt replied: "Politics is like that." Viewers were also shocked at the way that Chris was sacked from the BBC.

@AndyGibsonTV said: "15 years of loyalty at BBC Radio 1 from Chris Moyles and that's how they treated him." And @Beckywvr_ said: "As if the BBC pretty much told Chris Moyles they were making him leave to replace him with Grimmy. I grew up listening to The Chris Moyles show and that just seems so unbelievably cruel."

What do you think of the way that Chris was asked to leave the BBC? Let us know in the comments!

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