On Radio 3, Sean Rafferty bows out early
NewsThe long-serving drivetime presenter has told listeners that this will be his last week, and Friday his final show. Sean Rafferty has been moving traffic on the classical channel since 1997. He made no secret of his unhappiness with the decision to move him to other duties and has now brought forward the date of his departure by just over three months.
Radio 3 said last night: ‘We had originally intended for Sean to remain on the programme until next April, however, he has made the decision to present his final edition this coming Friday 6th December. In the meantime, we very much hope that Sean will continue to broadcast on BBC Radio 3 next year.
‘Katie Derham remains central to the programme and will present the majority of weeks from early January to the end of March. Other weeks will be hosted by Ian Skelly, Sara Mohr-Pietsch, Martin Handley and Sarah Walker.’
Massive loss. He is one of the few presenters on Radio 3 I delight in listening to (there are others – including the estimable Donald and Ian). KD is a very poor substitute, for me.
Radio 3 is in a terrible state. It’s a shadow of its former self and it’s not clear anyone there realises this.
They don’t realise, because the listening figures (apparently) say otherwise. So they think they’re getting it right. What’s lacking is any agreement (“clarity” as we say these days) about what “it” is.
Flattery is a sad loss. Always good to listen to and an affable prolocutor during those dreary first night intervals at the Garden, during which critics run away from each other or exchange barbed witticisms. Plus, unlike Derham at all the guy actually knows more about music than he reads from his autocue.
He never knows what day it is, or the correct time. So, perhaps BBC Management placed a daffodil on his desk, and he thought he’d already reached the end of March and announced his final week?
What a shame. He has such a good presenting style, unlike some of the presenters that will be left, at least 2 of which I can’t bear to listen to.
Katie Derham gives the impression she doesn’t particularly like classical music and would much prefer something more middle-brow; she certainly doesn’t want to listen to anything more challenging than Mozart. At least Sean seems to like classical music.
He has ruined so many interviews over the years that I tend to switch off when he is presenting. So it’s good news to read that he is leaving earlier.