Johnnie Walker's Retiring

[NathanS]

Clara Amfo's last show on Radio 1 tomorrow! Am I right in saying they're ditching the 'Future Sounds' name when Jack takes over?

[Darren m]

Yes that’s what I am thinking too it’s called new music show by the looks of things

[Jono]

End of an era! Will be sad to hear Clara go. I wonder if the renaming is an acknowledgement they didn't do enough to build up Clara's profile in the same way they did with Annie and Zane?

[GrimsbyGal]

I hope she is given the projects she's been promised, and she doesn't just quietly leave.

[JayJ]

Incredibly sad to see Clara leave. For me, the best at Radio 1, I still think her talent is somewhat under appreciated. The way she can hold down a radio show is unlike anyone else at the station. At a time where radio 1 is very feature and duo/trio led, Clara is a complete tonic. Her knowledge of music is second to none and she always sounds completely at ease on air whilst still being honest and real. She’s clearly appreciated by artists too (that Raye moment at The Brits, I mean come on!)

I hope we still get to see and hear lots of Clara across Radio 1 and Sounds. 
 

 

[1_tw]

To be honest she never filled Annie’s shoes in my eyes. It’s been a disappointing tenure having not been able to grow her show. It’s a stark contrast from her mid morning show where I preferred her to RMC.

[GrimsbyGal]

Sad that she said she felt different to others at Radio 1 having come from 1Xtra. Lovely how supportive Greg was through her career. 

[wbroom12]

Always thought Arielle would get this show. She's the most natural presenter to Annie Mac.

Maybe it was something to do with her Dj career and residencies in Ibiza

[R1Fan1]

Hard to believe that all the new shows from September 2021 are now pretty much over, aside from RMC on the live lounge show, and even then, they seemed to change things up after 18 months or so. It feels like yesterday since 6th September 2021 when all those new shows began!

 

[IamNotFromUK]

I liked her last show, but I don’t feel it had the same impact as Annie’s show. Also, I feel her tenure was quite short to be honest, so don’t understand what the sentiments are all about. I mean Annie did this show for 6 years and Zane Lowe for 12, compared to Clara’s 3 years.

Looking forward to Jack taking over from her - I think he has a lot of influence from Zane Lowe and we need that energy in 6pm slot.

[BraveInstance]

10 hours ago, IamNotFromUK said:

I liked her last show, but I don’t feel it had the same impact as Annie’s show. Also, I feel her tenure was quite short to be honest, so don’t understand what the sentiments are all about. I mean Annie did this show for 6 years and Zane Lowe for 12, compared to Clara’s 3 years.

Looking forward to Jack taking over from her - I think he has a lot of influence from Zane Lowe and we need that energy in 6pm slot.

Annie did the Friday night dance show as well so I think that made her more prominent. She's an excellent presenter at new music and I think Jack is the perfect successor for this show.

Clara was always in the 'good' category for me. She's been around since I started listening to R1 so feels a bit weird she's leaving. Think it's only Greg, Matt, Danny Howard and Pete Tong left now!

[AndyK77]

Clara was always a decent, competent and even good music radio presenter.

But equally, she never provoked really strong emotions in me that I must listen or must switch off.

[BBCAaron]

17 minutes ago, AndyK77 said:

Clara was always a decent, competent and even good music radio presenter.

But equally, she never provoked really strong emotions in me that I must listen or must switch off.

She is a good broadcaster no doubts but am of the same page with feelings mutual.

[BBCAaron]

18 hours ago, IamNotFromUK said:

I liked her last show, but I don’t feel it had the same impact as Annie’s show. Also, I feel her tenure was quite short to be honest, so don’t understand what the sentiments are all about. I mean Annie did this show for 6 years and Zane Lowe for 12, compared to Clara’s 3 years.

Looking forward to Jack taking over from her - I think he has a lot of influence from Zane Lowe and we need that energy in 6pm slot.

Yes, the length of the time on the station does help as with Annie Mac she did what dance specialist DJs kind of get a bit more favourability with the evening listeners who start out on something specialist. With Annie Mac she did years on dance before going to the flagship new music specialist programme with giving opportunities to new DJs and curating the playlist and having something different from Clara’s more music daytime show where she had to work with the playlist. Had she done more time doing a specialist show later on in the schedule it may have oddly made the moment bigger. Think sometimes what has helped create such a unique sound in presenters and personalities like Annie Mac, Jack and Grimmy for example starting out doing a late show with looser format. Think for the next Jack, Annie and Clara’s of the station do need to have a late live slot and do hope when radio 1 relax is shut down that maybe they change the power down playlist for something with bit more freedom.

[radio247]

Some talk in the Daily Mail about why she left. 

Quote

What happened – she explains – was years of ‘relentless’ workload and zero holidays, not even a bank holiday, which left her ‘burnt out’, feeling she’d done enough for the Beeb (‘You know, when your boots are full’). 

After begging for last summer off (which the BBC granted her) she spent months debating with herself whether to leave, and by November, still feeling the same, she quit. She insists that the move had nothing To do with approaching the age of 40, a traditionally stock-taking milestone.

Keen for new, broader experiences, Amfo is currently trying on different hats: she’s still freelancing with the BBC (including recording a pre-Glastonbury Live Lounge special with Dua Lipa); and she’s hosting the new late-Friday-night ITV Studio Sessions, her first TV series as a solo presenter, showing now on ITVX. 

She is also a trustee of the Royal Academy and was recently here alone (she prefers going to galleries solo), viewing an exhibition close to her heart as a second-generation Ghanaian: Entangled Pasts 1768-now. Art, Colonialism and Change.

‘I’ve never been busier,’ she says. ‘But I’ve also been able to go to my friends’ wedding and just live. That smile that you see, it’s from the contentment of [thinking], “Y’know what, Amfo, you did the right thing.”’

Whatever she does next, she won’t be fazed by the rich or the famous, having worked with many of the world’s biggest stars. She’s interviewed Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Elton John, Paul McCartney, William and Kate (she’s been to their royal homestead ‘a few times’). She’s played basketball with Justin Bieber and popped round to Elton’s to listen to records.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-13467157/CLARA-AMFO-radio-dj-set-record-straight-left-BBC-glad.html

Is this why we are seeing DJs just vanishing from the station?

Adele, Annie Mac, Grimmy, Clara, even Jordan?

 

[abertom]

Adele was more so she could spend time with her mum before she passed away. With the amount of upcoming presenters it did make sense why she didn’t come back but was pretty unforgivable she didn’t get a good bye show or even pop on with Greg. 

Annie possibly for family reasons and has mellowed

Grimmy had done his time on Radio 1 and no where else for him to go really

Jordan I’d have thought not much has changed with his workload. Capital does more pre recording and split links work

[radio247]

I get all of that. But arguably when you have family commitments it seems that you have to step away. Should it be like that?

Even Greg has had time off for mental health reasons previously, he's been open about it. 

[abertom]

2 minutes ago, radio247 said:

I get all of that. But arguably when you have family commitments it seems that you have to step away. Should it be like that?

Even Greg has had time off for mental health reasons previously, he's been open about it. 

It depends on the presenter, the show and what they’re known for. If it’s a specialist DJ who got a show because of their reputation in the club scene and they’re not doing the clubs or a lot less because of family or other reasons, it may make sense to get someone in who’s current and fresh

[Bluestraw]

I struggle to believe the entire DM article about Clara. This thing about no holidays and working bank holidays - certainly she wasn't doing that on her R1 show so must have been a broader comment about her overall workload. Also I'm not one of these people who thinks a 2 hour radio show is just 2 hours work per day, but really compared with the majority of people working full time 5 days a week it doesn't seem too bad, and most of us don't get a chance to stop work because we want to.

Fair enough if she has mental health issues, completely understand why that mean the need to change / stop work. But as-written that article doesn't make me sympathetic!

[onlyME]

I remember Sian and Jack sitting in for Clara quite a lot.

[abertom]

56 minutes ago, onlyME said:

I remember Sian and Jack sitting in for Clara quite a lot.

They did!