Entertainment

Geri Horner ‘not helpful’ when she appeared on my show – Ken Bruce

The veteran radio host has spilled the beans on one of his lowlights during his decades-long career.
The veteran radio host has spilled the beans on one of his lowlights during his decades-long career. The veteran radio host has spilled the beans on one of his lowlights during his decades-long career.

Ken Bruce has said that one of his most memorable moments on his BBC Radio 2 show involved Geri Horner and her flatulent dog.

The radio presenter has also revealed that he thinks his “normal life” approach to presenting is the reason he appeals to his loyal audience.

The 66-year-old told the Radio Times of one of his career lowlights, in which “a member of a girl group – well, it’s Geri Halliwell – who was not helpful, shall we say”.

Geri Horner
Geri Horner (Ian West/PA Wire/PA Images)
Geri Horner (formerly Halliwell) (Ian West/PA)

Bruce said: “She brought in somebody she had met on the street, and this was just after a major terrorism incident.”

He added: “And a dog that farted.”

Bruce has been a BBC fixture for more than three decades, is Radio 2’s longest-serving male broadcaster, and his mid-morning show has an audience of more than 8 million.

But of his secret to success, he said he believes there is none.

He said: “I just come on and am roughly myself – or a slightly better version – and hope that’s what people like.

“I don’t do laugh-out-loud stuff: wry smiles are what I like to get.”

The veteran DJ said: “Would something that works for someone my age work for someone of 15 who is listening in the car with their mum, or someone who is 35?

Ken Bruce
Ken Bruce (Lorenzo Agius/BBC)
BBC Radio 2’s Ken Bruce (Lorenzo Agius/BBC)

“Broadly speaking, I do normal life: things going wrong with your washing machine, children not cleaning their bedrooms.

“I don’t go to showbiz parties, but I wouldn’t talk about it if I did. If you talk about digging the garden – not everyone’s got a garden. Not everyone can afford a car.

“You have to not say things that’ll make people think, ‘He doesn’t begin to understand my life’.”

Radio Times is on sale now.