Roman Kemp steps down from Capital Breakfast show

Roman Kemp has announced he is stepping down from his Capital Breakfast show, 10 years after presenting his first programme for the station.

His last show will be on March 28, Capital’s parent company Global Radio confirmed.

Speaking on his morning programme on Monday, Kemp said: “What I can tell you is I’m not saying goodbye right now, I’m not leaving the show today and that’s it, but it’s not far away.

“It will come and that goodbye will come in five to six weeks. It’s not a decision that has come overnight either, it’s massive, I’ve not found it easy at all.

“Capital is my family, you as the wonderful listeners that you’ve been, you’ve been with me at my best times and my absolute lowest … Capital and Global have helped change me.

“I was 22 years old when I first joined Capital and it’s built me into the man that I am today, it is all that I know. But I know that now is the right time to leave and now is the right time to move on.”

Kemp was joined by co-hosts Sian Welby and Chris Stark as he continued: “You listening, and the people in this room, every single person in this room, my producing team, Sian and Chris, Sonny who has done it in the past, and Vick Hope who had done it in the past. It’s everyone.

“The next couple of weeks as I kind of approach the end of my time here on Capital, it’s going to be so tough.

“I love this place so much, I love it. I love the station, I love everything about it, Capital is my family.

“And I also love the connection that you and I, the listeners, have built together. It’s changed. I know that it started out as me being just Martin Kemp’s son, I hope that now you can call me your friend.”

Kemp joined Capital in 2014 when it was still a London station, before hosting the prestigious The Capital Evening Show in 2016.

He moved to Capital Breakfast in 2017 before the show launched nationwide in 2019.

Kemp, who is the son of Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp and Wham singer Shirlie Kemp, has also forged a career on television, including a documentary about mental health and suicide in young men.

Ashley Tabor-King, founder and executive president of Global, said: “Roman, it’s been a pleasure.  You’ve been a fantastic host and custodian of one of the biggest shows in UK radio, the Capital breakfast show.

“I’ve loved watching you grow and grow as a broadcaster and as a person and I wish you all the very best for whatever comes next.”

The new host of Capital Breakfast will be confirmed soon, the station said.