Ken Bruce's PopMaster quiz is back for its second TV series

• Bruce, 72, left Radio 2 after 31 years to join Greatest Hits Radio in 2023
• READ MORE: Ken Bruce celebrates one-year on Greatest Hits Radio with a special show live from a surprising location 

Ken Bruce describes himself as more of a tortoise than a hare.

The famously modest DJ took a risk at the age of 72 when he left Radio 2, where he’d been for 31 years, to join the commercial station Greatest Hits Radio.

But the move last year has paid off in spades for Ken because he’s almost doubled the audience for the 10am-1pm weekday show.

He now has 3.8 million listeners tuning in, while more than a million have tuned out of his coveted Radio 2 slot since Vernon Kay took over.

Ken is not one to focus on figures, though he does admit, ‘I have a slight spring in my step. In terms of my speed, I’m much more tortoise than hare, but I think slow and steady wins the race.

‘I’d been at Radio 2 for a long time, but I’d been thinking, “This is fun. But am I now on a very long, slow slope towards retirement?” I didn’t want to retire. I wanted to see if I could do something slightly different. It’s good to give yourself a bit of a challenge, to try something new and hope it works out.’

One reason for his success is his enduringly popular music quiz PopMaster, to which he acquired the rights after the BBC turned down the opportunity to jointly trademark it years ago.

He took the quiz with him to Greatest Hits, where it continues to be a big pull, and it’s also now become a TV show with a second series about to air on More4.

“I bump into my successor Vernon Kay a lot – we get the same train ”

It sees Ken challenge music fans from across the country to recall facts and stats about their favourite chart-toppers, covering music from the 50s to the present day.

The new TV series kicks off with two celebrity episodes featuring ten star names including Toyah Willcox, Sally Lindsay, Gareth Malone and Nish Kumar.

Then, over 13 episodes with ordinary contenders, the five highest-scoring winners will go through to the Grand Final, with the chance to win the ultimate accolade – PopMaster TV champion – and take home a platinum disc.

‘The quiz attracts real music fans as there are no big prizes and we have many repeat contestants on the radio. We’ve had people on as many as five times a year,’ says Ken.

‘And in terms of the celebrity shows, they’re just as good because they take it seriously and they get the same level of questions as everybody else.’

Celebrity PopMaster TV, is on Monday and Tuesday, 9pm on More4

There has been widespread criticism of Radio 2’s attempts to rejuvenate its line-up, with long-standing presenters Vanessa Feltz, Craig Charles and the late Paul O’Grady all leaving in the year before Ken’s departure.

The BBC had told Ken they would offer him another contract, but as his current one neared its end, the new one hadn’t materialised, and he decided to go. His departure was sped up by his bosses, with his final show airing on 3 March 2023, three weeks before his contract ended.

‘I’ve never been one to blow my own trumpet, but I’m quite happy if someone else blows it for me,’ says Ken. ‘I’m congenitally incapable of boasting – anybody who boasted in Glasgow when I was growing up was taken down to size quite quickly.

‘I’ve been in this business a long time and seen a lot of shooting stars who fizzled out. I’m much happier just doing a good, solid, professional job. I never came into broadcasting for fame – just for the respect of my audience, peers and friends. If I lost that I would stop doing it.’

Ken Bruce on his last BBC Radio 2 show on Friday, March 3, 2023

Does he listen to Vernon in his old slot? ‘No, because I’m on air at the same time. But I bump into him on the station platform because we get the same train. I met him the other day and he was telling me about the holiday he had over Easter. We had a lovely chat. I absolutely wish him the very best.’

Ken is now 73 but looks far younger, although this wasn’t always the case. ‘When

I was 35, I’d lost my hair and my beard had gone grey, and someone wrote a feature saying, “Is this the oldest looking 35-year-old?” I thought, “Thanks a lot!”’

Now he’s turning back the clock in more ways than one. As he says, slow and steady wins the race.

• Celebrity PopMaster TV, Monday and Tuesday, 9pm, More4.

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