Roman Kemp has opened up about the reasons he decided to quit presenting on Capital Radio earlier this year.
The radio host stepped down from Capital’s breakfast show in March after 10 years with the station, with former BBC Radio 1 presenter Jordan North stepping in as his replacement.
At the time, Roman spoke about the impact of his best friend and producer Joe Lyons’ suicide in August 2020 made on his decision, sharing that he had been “living that same day over and over again” just by being in the studio.
In a new episode of AutoTrader’s Show On The Road, the Roman opened up about some of the other reasons he left Capital, revealing that he was also suffering with sleep issues.
He explained: “I didn’t really know that I had sleep apnea until recently. And then I did these tests and the way the doctor described it to me was, I was running a half marathon in my sleep and not resting.”
The Celebrity Googlebox star said that he was only getting 20 percent of the normal oxygen intake during sleep.
“I think leaving Capital for me was a mixture of things. I’m tired. I need to look after myself a little bit,” he added.
Roman also explained that there were moments he was “trying to spin two careers at once” with both TV and radio.
“But, on the other hand, there have been days where I’ve felt my lowest, and the radio is the thing that has kept me going,” he went on to say.
“I’ve gone through things on air that no one should ever have to go through. You know, so it’s been sad leaving Capital, but I think it’s the right thing.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Roman recalled how he was on air when news about Joe’s death was “unfolding”, because the producer hadn’t turned up for work.
“You know, the saddest part of leaving Capital is that I feel like I’m leaving him,” he admitted. “That’s the God’s honest truth, the only part of it that I cried about was that I feel like I’m letting that go.”
In 2021, Roman released a documentary called Our Silent Emergency, exploring the mental health and suicide crisis affecting young men.
AutoTrader’s Show On The Road is available now on all podcast platforms.
Help and support:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
- CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.