Jeremy Vine is the latest celebrity to hit out at cancel culture, saying it can be difficult as a broadcaster and presenter and that he has to "ignore the dangers of it".
The Radio 2 presenter talks about the modern phenomenon of ‘cancelling’ someone for saying something you don’t like in a new chat with the Radio Times : “I do worry about it because it seems to be capricious and unfair: you’ll wake up one morning and have been cancelled.”
He continues: “In a way, as a broadcaster, you have to ignore the dangers of it because if you are constantly scared of your own shadow and monitoring what your guests are saying in a schoolmasterly way, it’s not the same show.”
The former Strictly star insists: “You can’t let yourself worry about it.”
Jeremy is known for his outspoken opinions around cycling, and he’s a keen bike rider.
He says cycling is one place he can’t hold back his thoughts: “Road death is the one area where I fear I don’t have much impartiality. I don’t think there’s another side to the argument.”
The presenter explains how he got into it: “I started cycling in my mid-40s because I was gaining weight, miserable and my schedule was killing me.
“I had an hour-and-10-minute-long commute to travel seven miles. I got a bike and it felt like a transformation. I became really passionate about it.”
His social media regularly features videos of near-misses with car drivers, or posts from other cyclists that he shares to raise awareness with his 767,000 Twitter followers.
As well as his Radio 2 shows, Jeremy also presents Eggheads and his Channel 5 programme, as well as writing books.
He has a little routine that he has to stick to in order to get everything done: “My alarm goes off at 4.42am. For some reason, when I first set my alarm, it ended up on that time and I’ve left it there ever since.”
Jeremy has a simple solution for how to sustain his busy schedule: “Joy and enthusiasm is the answer. If you enjoy it, you do it.”
He was recently swamped with Ofcom complaints following an argument with Beverley Turner, after she ranted about the coronavirus vaccine.
Appearing on the Channel 5 show she insisted her children won't be having the jab, which she mistakenly called a "trial".
She also claimed the long-term side effects of the vaccine aren't known.
As a result Jeremy's show received 125 complaints, most of which were caused by Beverley's comments.
Turner ranted: "Less than one per cent of deaths are down to Covid-19.
"This has to be taken by a decision-by-decision basis because this is a clinical trial until 2023.
"We do not know the long-term effects of this vaccine for any individual.”
However, Jeremy’s show wasn’t the first time she caused upset, after generating hundreds of complaints following an earlier appearance on This Morning.
Read the full Jeremy Vine interview in this week's Radio Times, out now.
