HEARTBREAKING NEWS: BBC Radio 2 legend officially leaves the show after a glittering 40-year career.
BBC Radio 2 veteran Gary Davies has opened up about whether retirement is finally on his mind after more than four decades in broadcasting, and his answer will come as welcome news to longtime listeners.
The 68-year-old, who first went on air with the BBC on December 4, 1982, says he still gets the same excitement from broadcasting that he felt earlier in his career.
Ahead of appearing at Radio 2 in the Park in Stirling, where he is due to host four shows between September 11 and 13, Gary was asked whether he ever gets tired of the job.
His response was immediate.
“No, absolutely not,” he told Express.co.uk.
Gary explained that he had effectively walked away from radio during the 1990s and had never expected to make a full-time return.
“I basically retired from radio in the ’90s and set up some music companies, and I never intended to come back into radio,” he said.
“It was never part of my plan.”
‘I Still Get a Buzz Every Time’
Gary eventually returned to Radio 2 eight years ago following what he described as a series of “very happy coincidences.”
That comeback completely changed his relationship with broadcasting.
“I ended up back on Radio 2 eight years ago and thoroughly rediscovered my love for broadcasting,” he said.
“To the extent that I don’t do much else now. I’m just loving being a full-time DJ again.”
He added: “I still get a buzz every time I step in the studio, and I still get a buzz every time I step onto a stage in front of a live audience.”
“I’m very lucky to be still doing it after so many decades.”
Gary also joked that one reason audiences may still enjoy hearing him is because he spent so many years away from the spotlight.
“I think probably the secret of my success is I disappeared for 25 years and then came back again,” he said.
“So people never really got a chance to be bored with me.”
Why Gary Walked Away From Radio
Gary left BBC Radio 1 in 1993 at a time when the station was operating on a scale he felt would be almost impossible to replicate elsewhere.
He briefly worked at Virgin Radio but deliberately chose not to remain a constant presence on smaller stations.
“I remember when I left Radio One, no other radio station would have been as big,” he explained.
Gary said that at the time, Radio 1 had an enormous weekly audience and he did not feel excited by the idea of moving straight into a much smaller broadcasting role.
“So I made a conscious decision that if I can’t do it on a big stage, then I don’t really want to do this,” he said.
He had watched former colleagues struggle after leaving major radio jobs and decided instead to focus on business.
Gary went on to build music and marketing companies, spending much of the next phase of his career away from mainstream broadcasting.
Then Radio 2 came calling.
“And then Radio 2 asked me to do one show eight years ago, and it’s led to this now,” he said.
Radio Has Changed Dramatically
Although Gary still loves the job, he admits modern broadcasting comes with a few challenges that simply did not exist when he started.
One of the biggest differences is the number of radio programmes now streamed online with cameras in the studio.
“I know that is a bit of a pain in the bum, really,” he joked.
Gary said he largely ignores the cameras while broadcasting and simply continues as if he were doing a traditional radio show.
But there is one downside.
The night before a broadcast, he sometimes finds himself worrying about whether he has already worn the same clothes on camera.
“You end up like having to buy lots of new clothes so that you don’t repeat yourself too often, which is not ideal,” he laughed.
Despite those changes, Gary appears to have no immediate intention of walking away.
More than 40 years after his BBC debut, he says the excitement is still there every time the microphone goes live.
And after once believing his radio career had ended for good, Gary now appears happier than ever to be back doing the job that first made him a household voice.
