Rylan Clark says 'they won't listen' as he questions 'decision' by BBC bosses

Daily Mirror

22-06-2025

Rylan Clark has presented his BBC Radio 2 show since 2019 when he replaced Zoe Ball, but he says he has pitched another idea to bosses at the radio station
Rylan Clark says BBC bosses 'won't listen' as he questioned a 'decision' made by the broadcaster. The 36-year-old has been presenting his Saturday afternoon slot on BBC Radio 2 since 2019. He replaced presenter Zoe Ball when she moved to the station's coveted breakfast slot.
Zoe, 54, has however since left the show and been replaced by Scott Mills. Rylan however continues to broadcast to the nation as well as fronting a series of podcasts for the BBC.
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He however hinted that he believes he would be perfect for another role at the station. Although he joked that his pleas to BBC bosses had so far fallen on deaf ears.
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He made the revelation as he flashed his geography skills at the weekend. During the bulletin, traffic presenter Sally Boazman asked: 'The A13 Stanford-Le-Hope bypass, eastbound, is partly blocked between Stanford-le-Hope and a place called Fobbing, does that exist? Is there a place called Fobbing?'
'Yeah, it's basically the Basildon turn-off,' responded Essex boy Rylan. He added: 'It's a little village on the outskirts of Corringham.'
Sally responded: 'You should do the traffic really, shouldn't you?' To which Rylan joked: 'I should. I've been saying this for years but they won't listen.'
Before working in radio, Rylan rose to fame when he appeared on the X Factor in 2012. He was eliminated in the quarter final as James Arthur went on to win the competition.
Just weeks later however, Rylan was whisked away to the Celebrity Big Brother house. He won over the nation and was crowned the winner, ahead of reality stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.
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He later went on to work as a reporter on This Morning as well as presenting Big Brother's Bit on the Side. Since 2018 he has commentated on the semi-finals of Eurovision alongside fellow Radio 2 star Scott.
Earlier this year Rylan won a BAFTA for his documentary Rob and Rylan's Grand Tour, which saw him travelling around Italy with Rob Rinder. Rylan described the show as 'two gay guys, going through a divorce' after he split from ex-husband Dan Neal in 2021, and Rob split from his own husband in 2018.
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Speaking to the Mirror and other press, Rylan said: "The show, it happened at a really weird time for me. I wasn't fully over some of the breakdown of my marriage and stuff like that. I was flung with a judge. It was the best therapy I needed.
"The journey, and I hate that word in telly, from when we meet and how raw I was at that time. It was like being an adolescent again and starting again but with cameras there.
'Everyone who worked on the show made it look exactly how it was. They didn't try to make it look good.'
The pair will return with a follow-up series, Rob and Rylan's Passage to India, which is set for release in autumn.