After a successful 13 years of working with the corporation, presenter Jonathan Ross has announced that he is quitting the BBC.

The 49 year old’s current contract with the broadcaster is due to end this July, and he has confirmed that he will not be renewing it. As one of the highest paid stars at the BBC, Ross earned an impressive £6 million per year; there had been many rumours circulating over the last year that he would have to take a rather substantial pay cut due to the credit crunch, reducing his contract to £2 million – just a third of what he was used to. Other presenters have also been affected by the financial climate, such as Graham Norton who agreed to accept £500,000 less per year than he had been earning. Despite these allegations, Ross has made it clear that his decision to leave the BBC has nothing to do with financial motivations. He spoke of how he’s had a “wonderful time” working for the corporation and would happily stay with them, having even turned down lucrative offers from other networks in favour of staying with the BBC.

Jonathan Ross went through a very rocky patch in 2008 following a controversial phone call to elderly actor Andrew Sachs during a radio show, alongside the recently engaged comedian Russell Brand. The pair left a series of crude voice messages regarding the actor’s granddaughter; the calls prompted record complaints from listeners who were outraged at the messages. Both Ross and Brand’s futures at the BBC were uncertain, and as a result Jonathan Ross was suspended for 12 weeks. This seemed to be enough to placate viewers, as his popularity with the public is still strong today. There have been insinuations that the incident with Andrew Sachs is the real reason that Ross is leaving the BBC and that it has not been smooth sailing since then, but to Ross this must now seem far behind him.

At present, Jonathan Ross presents a show on Radio 2, has his own talk show on BBC1 and also hosts a film review programme. His has expressed his regret that fans of these shows will be disappointed by his departure, and told reporters how proud he is of his work at the BBC. Several of our Euston escorts are fans of the presenter and will be sad to see him go.