Jeremy Vine claims predecessor Jimmy Young was ‘so angry with him’ over BBC Radio 2 slot

Jeremy Vine exclaims as he’s undertaken by car Jeremy Vine has claimed his predecessor Sir Jimmy Young refused to accept his lunch invitation after the former took over his BBC Radio 2 slot. Speaking in an episode of Kaye Adams’ How To Be 60 podcast, he discussed how his fellow journalist, then 81, left the station in 2002 after decades of broadcasting his lunchtime show – and he’d replaced him for the 12pm to 2pm slot. Jimmy had insisted that it hadn’t been his decision to leave, branding the BBC “brutal” and announcing they’d decided to “axe my enormously successful, award-winning programme”. “When Jimmy Young left, he was so angry about it… When I said, ‘Can we meet for lunch, can we talk about it?’ he sent me this little note [saying]: ‘I do not have time for lunch,'” Jeremy claimed. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s so cross, he’s angry with me!'” Jeremy Vine has spoken out about Jimmy Young allegedly refusing to have lunch with him At the time, there had been plans for Jimmy to move to a weekend show instead, but in the end, he chose to retire altogether from the channel. He wrote in his Sunday Express column at the time: “I was going to write that I had enjoyed that relationship [with the BBC] but that wouldn’t be true. “Sometimes enjoyable, often not, would be a more accurate description.” The veteran broadcaster, who died in 2016 aged 95, also expressed his discontent with the license fee. Jimmy Young had been unhappy with the BBC’s decision SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info “People no longer automatically tune to the BBC as the authoritative voice of the news. ITV changed that when it proved it could mount news programmes as well, sometimes better than the BBC,” he wrote. However, at the time, a spokeswoman at the station responded: “It was his decision to leave. He was offered a weekend programme which he chose not to take, so he has left the BBC of his own accord.” Meanwhile, discussing the prospect of ageism in the media and being ousted at a certain age, Jeremy made it clear he didn’t feel threatened. “As a journalist, when you get older, you get better,” the 58-year-old declared, adding: “I don’t really go for public panic – let’s see.” Trending Jeremy Vine had been speaking on a podcast episode with Kaye Adams