Lauren Laverne has announced she is stepping down from her BBC Radio 6 Music show after five years at the helm.
On Thursday morning, Lauren shared that she’d made the decision to leave the breakfast show while recovering from cancer last year.
She has been absent from her usual slot since August, and will instead be presenting a new mid-morning show for 6 Music when she returns to the station in February.
“As listeners will know, I had a really tough 2024 and worried at times that I wouldn’t be able to return to the station I love so much,” she explained.
“It has been a huge honour (and so much fun) to host the breakfast show for six wonderful years, but it is time to pass the baton on, and to set my alarm a little later.” She continued: “During my recovery I learned all over again about the power of music, the people you surround yourself with and the emotional support and joy radio can provide.
“I’m so grateful to be able to get back to doing what I love and sharing those things with our brilliant listeners every day.”
After disclosing her cancer diagnosis over the summer, Lauren shared in November that she’d been given the all-clear by her doctors.
She told her Instagram followers: “I want to say a huge thank you to the brilliant medical teams who took such great care of me, to the thousands of people who sent me such beautiful and encouraging messages, my friends and the acquaintances who took the time to support me after going through cancer themselves – and most of all to my family: my two astounding kids and especially my husband Graeme, who was absolutely extraordinary throughout.
“It’s been a difficult time but one that has taught me so much about what really matters. I can’t say I suddenly regretted never having hiked the Inca Trail, more that I now see more beauty in ordinary things than I could have imagined, and feel more than ever that the small things in life – the connections we make and care we take with each other – are the big things really.”
Lauren also returned to work on The One Show in November, after completing her cancer treatment.