Neil Pringle hosts his last BBC Sussex breakfast show

Neil Pringle, who has presented the breakfast show on BBC Sussex for the past 14 years, began his radio career in Humberside in 1982.

The presenter, who gets up at 3.45am to do the show, said he will not miss the early mornings.

He said: “The best bits of the job you take for granted – the interaction with the team is great fun and I will miss the banter.

“Working in local radio, like on a local paper, you are so close to the audience, and I’m going to miss that sense of being in a big family.

“But I got to the age of 60 and thought, if I don’t do something different now, I probably never will.”

Neil Pringle

Neil said he is ready for a new challenge and plans to work in video production for charities.

He said: “I love my job but it’s time for something new. I thought I’d do something that doesn’t involve getting up at silly o’clock every day.”

Neil said radio is “almost unrecognisable” from when he started out in the industry.

He said: “Back then we were using razor blades to physically cut these massive tapes when we needed to do editing. It was tremendously old fashioned, but it wasn’t all that long ago that it changed.”

Neil, who started working at BBC Sussex in 1994 – known as BBC Southern Counties at the time – has covered various major breaking news stories and events in the county, and even managed to broadcast while running the Brighton marathon.

He has been part of the same team alongside news reporter Jo Rickards and travel reporter Stephen Cranford for the past 14 years.

Fellow BBC Sussex presenters Danny Pike and Allison Fernes are set to take over and will share Neil’s slot on the breakfast show.

Neil said: “It’s been lovely working with Jo and Stephen.

“On the breakfast show, the highlights of your working life are like the highs and lows of the area. I remember the Shoreham air crash and the Lewes floods in 2000 when I was up to my waist in water.

“The past eight weeks covering the pandemic and answering people’s questions feel like the most important broadcasting we’ve ever done.

“In a funny way it’s been a great way to end things, doing what local radio does best – being part of the community response and helping each other.”

A spokeswoman for the BBC said: “Neil has been a key part of BBC Radio Sussex as our Breakfast presenter for the last 14 years. 

"We wish him all the very best for the future.”