Paul O’Grady to be joining rival station less than a year after BBC Radio 2 exit

Paul O’Grady has landed a new gig hosting a weekend radio show, following his departure from BBC Radio 2.

O’Grady, 67, left the station after 14 years a few months ago as a host of broadcasters were axed, including Vanessa Feltz and Steve Wright, in favour of a refreshed line-up.

Now the presenter is set to appear on rival network Boom Radio in a few weeks’ time, and has already classed the station as “my new home”.

O’Grady told MailOnline: “It’s great to be working with the team at Boom again. It already feels like my new radio home.

"My producer Malcolm and I are looking forward to our special TeamPOG show on Easter Sunday — who knows, this could be the start of a regular gig."

This news comes as Ken Bruce announced he is leaving Boom Radio to work at Greatest Hits Radio.

Last month, O’Grady slammed Radio 2 as he accused the network of “aiming for a much younger audience”, and said as his show ended last year: “I thought, ‘I can’t be bothered anymore.’”

The host claimed he, along with other former employees, were being “paid a pittance”, and later suggested money issues might have been the reason for the layoffs at the network.

O’Grady thanked fans as he addressed his departure from his radio show in a previous Instagram post.

He wrote: “I want to say thank you very much for listening and for all your emails and all your messages and all the fun I’ve had over the years.

"And also a huge special mention to Malcolm Prince, my producer. And I’ve been really lucky in my time to have worked with some smashing producers, and Malcolm is way up there, believe you and me."