The Stage

Jonathan Ross quits BBC

Published Thursday 7 January 2010 at 12:56 by Matthew Hemley

Jonathan Ross is to leave the BBC after 13 years.

The presenter said today in a statement that he had decided not to renegotiate his contract with the Corporation when it comes to an end in July this year.

He added that the decision had not been “financially motivated” and that “no negotiations ever took place”.

News of his resignation comes after the BBC said yesterday Graham Norton had signed a new two-year deal with the Corporation, but with a pay cut of £500,000 a year.

Ross said: “I signed my current contract with the BBC having turned down more lucrative offers from other channels because it was where I wanted to be, and would happily have stayed there for any fee they cared to offer, but there were other considerations.”

He said he would work on his Friday night chat show, Film 2010 and his BBC Radio 2 show until the summer, and added that he would continue to host the Bafta Film Awards, Comic Relief and other specials for the BBC beyond the end of his contract.

“Working for the BBC has been a tremendous privilege, and I would like to thank everyone who has watched and listened so loyally over the last 13 years,” he said.

Ross’ resignation follows controversy caused after he and Russell Brand made prank calls to actor Andrew Sachs, which prompted the Corporation to tighten its compliance procedures and ended up with the BBC being fined £150,000 by Ofcom.

Responding to his decision today, BBC Vision director Jana Bennett said: “Jonathan is an extremely talented broadcaster and his programmes for BBC TV and Radio have been a great success. However, it’s been a difficult year for him and I understand why he feels it’s the right thing to do.”