John Humphrys has confirmed he will leave the Today programme in the autumn, bringing to an end his 32-year stint as a host on the BBC Radio 4 show. The presenter joked on Wednesday morning’s programme, that his departure would “make other people happier possibly” and confirmed his departure in an interview with the rival Radio 4 show The World at One. The broadcaster had earlier told the Daily Mail he was “assuming” he would leave the early morning news and current affairs show in 2019 but had yet to formally hand in his notice. He said he had previously believed he would carry on doing the job “either until they threw me out or had enough of me, or that I’d got bored of it or stopped enjoying it, but none of those things have happened”. He added: “I still enjoy it enormously. I know that sounds ridiculous. There are mornings in mid-February when you don’t want to get up at half past three. But, equally, there are other things I want to do with my life, and one has to make the decision sooner or later.” Humphrys will not be disappearing from the BBC altogether, with the corporation coincidentally announcing on Wednesday that he has been signed up to present the quiz show Mastermind for another two years. His supposedly imminent retirement from Today has been the subject of media speculation for more than a decade. Much of this has been stoked by Humphrys, who would give interviews predicting his departure before going on to sign a contract extension. This time he really is on the way to the exit. The Today programme editor, Sarah Sands, said: “Enjoy John’s lap of honour this year. Totally uninterested in his own publicity. A king of broadcasting.” BBC presenter John Humphrys in 2017. Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA The 75-year-old’s departure after almost a third of a century with the same programme will end a high-profile and often controversial stint on the airwaves, during which he shaped the reporting of British politics. His aggressive interviewing style won both fans and detractors, with his political stance coming under particular scrutiny following the Brexit referendum. Humphrys, who as a young journalist reported on the 1966 Aberfan mining disaster, later joined the BBC where he worked as a foreign correspondent before becoming he lead presenter on the Nine O’Clock News. He then transferred to the Today programme in 1987, where he has covered the administrations of six different prime ministers for the show. He has been writing a book on his times with the programme entitled The Today Files, and could have found it hard to promote the inside story of the programme while still appearing on it. Last year, he was at the centre of an equal pay row after a recording leaked of him making off-air comments about the BBC’s gender pay gap, following the resignation of the corporation’s China editor, Carrie Gracie, in protest. BBC pay disclosure figures revealed that in 2017 Humphrys received between £600,000 and £649,999 for his work on the Today programme and Mastermind. Following an outcry he agreed to take a substantial pay cut, with his combined salary set to fall below £300,000. The pay disclosure caused ructions among Today presenters, with Humphrys’ longtime colleague Sarah Montague leaving the programme after discovering she was paid substantially less than fellow on-air colleagues. Humphrys’ departure will open up a presenting slot on the programme alongside hosts Nick Robinson, Mishal Husain, Martha Kearney and Justin Webb. The appointment could be one of the first major decisions for the next Radio 4 controller. Sands has previously described Humphrys as a “listeners’ champion”. “He’s extremely curious, he’s extremely engaged, fantastically interested in new subjects and new people and real people. The overall purpose in him is pursuit of truth,” she said.<doc-sep>Speaking to his former Today co-presenter Sarah Montague on The World at One, Humphrys said he would miss the show's listeners the most, adding: "You do feel that you have a relationship with a huge number of people."<doc-sep>John Humphrys has been hailed a "king of broadcasting" after it was revealed he will quit the Today programme this year after more than three decades. The veteran broadcaster plans to stand down from the flagship Radio 4 show, which he has anchored for the last 32 years. Humphrys, 75, has "indicated" his intentions to BBC bosses and "assumes" he will go in 2019, but has not yet handed in his notice. The BBC declined to comment on Humphrys's departure, but Today editor Sarah Sands tweeted: "Enjoy John's lap of honour this year. Totally uninterested in his own publicity. A king of broadcasting. And long live Mishal." During Wednesday's broadcast, Humphrys steered clear of his own headlines as he reviewed the papers on Radio 4's flagship news programme until the final five minutes when a guest brought up his impending departure.<doc-sep>
John Humphrys is planning on quitting BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this year, according to reports. After spending more than three decades on the early morning news and current affairs show, the veteran presenter has indicated that he wishes to step down. The 75-year-old said he “assumes” he will be giving up the job at some point in 2019. “I’m assuming it’ll be this year. That’s what I’m assuming, but I haven’t fixed a date,” Mr Humphrys told the Daily Mail. “It’s not easy to leave a job you’ve been doing for 32 years. It’s more than half my professional life.” Mr Humphrys said he was no longer an “ambitious youngster with many, many more challenges ahead” of him. “I’ve always taken the view – and this is the problem in a way – that I would carry on doing it either until they threw me out or had enough of me, or that I’d got bored of it or stopped enjoying it,” he added. “None of those things has happened.” Mr Humphrys joined Today in January 1987, alongside Brian Redhead, but continued to work on other BBC news programmes. His departure could trigger a shake-up on the show. ✕ Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events In 2017 Mr Humphrys was at the centre of the debate surrounding the gender pay gap at the BBC, during which he was revealed as one of the corporation’s biggest earners. At the time he was taking home more than half a million pounds. The BBC declined to comment on the report. Additional reporting from agencies