The star, who was revealed to be the third highest earner at the broadcaster this year, said he was ‘sad’ to be stepping away from his radio duties but will continue his work on various TV projects with the BBC

BBC Radio 2 has announced that Graham Norton has decided to leave the network later this year.

Ten years after presenting his first Saturday morning (10am-1pm) show for the station, Graham, 57, will present his last programme on Saturday December 19.

Breaking the news to fans, Graham said: “Obviously I’m sad to be stepping away from my Radio 2 show. I’ll miss being a part of the Wogan House family, as well as the listeners and their lives.

“I’d like to thank my producer Malcolm Prince and all the teams I’ve worked with for a great decade of radio. Happily with the chat show, Eurovision and Drag Race the BBC continues to be my perfect TV home.”

New plans for the Saturday morning Radio 2 schedule will be announced in due course.

In September, it was revealed that Graham was the third highest earner at the BBC with a salary of £725,000.