Clara Amfo appeared happier than ever during her recent trip to Jamaica, after quitting her presenting job on BBC Radio 1’s Future Sounds.
The DJ, 39, flaunted her figure in an eye-catching red bikini top and matching thong bottoms.
Clara slipped into a white two-piece while perched on a swing above water, while another snap showed her dressed in a dazzling gold skirt on the beach.
Alongside a group shot with her pals she wrote: ’24 is the caption as I fear Ja maic yah bed you gotta lie in it was my peak from the ’22 trip.’
It comes after Clara announced she has quit her presenting job on BBC Radio 1’s Future Sounds.
Clara Amfo flaunted her figure in an eye-catching red bikini as she soaked up the sun in Jamaica
The DJ, 39, appeared happier than ever as she slipped into a white two-piece and sat on a swing above water
The presenter, who competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2020 with Aljaz Skorjanec, issued a statement on Tuesday and shared a post of her in the recording studio on Instagram.
She penned: ‘With immense gratitude and thought given, I have made the choice to say goodbye to Future Sounds on @bbcradio1.
‘I’ll save the long paragraphs (cos you know I love ’em!) for my final show but for now, I will say I’m so proud of the work I’ve been able to do on every type show over the years from the 8th floor, up and down UK and random pop stars houses!
‘I’m grateful to have had the ears of the listeners who have consistently shown up for me.
‘I’m enamoured by every production team I’ve had the privilege of working alongside for each and every broadcast.
‘I’m so honoured by the incredible artists and their hardworking teams who have chosen the show to share their work and intimate thoughts, constantly providing one of the most precious things we all need to keep going in this wild world’.
She concluded: ‘I’m energised and excited for my next chapter as part of the network and beyond! See you at 6pm Clara x’.
Clara, thought to earn around £150k per year, was flooded by comments from her fans and famous friends, with fellow Radio 1 star Greg James writing: ‘Love yeeeeeeeeeew ❤️’ and Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball gushing: ‘oh clara new adventures ahead. huge love to you goddess x’
Alongside a group shot with her pals she wrote: ’24 is the caption as I fear Ja maic yah bed you gotta lie in it was my peak from the ’22 trip.’
Another snap showed her dressed in a dazzling gold skirt and crop top on the beach
Strictly’s Angela Scanlon penned: ‘Yes babs!! Up up and away xx’ while Loose Women’s Judi Love added: ‘The world is ready for your next move!!’
Stacey Dooley commented a series of clapping hands emjois, while Claudia Winkleman posted a string of hearts.
Jack Saunders – who presents the station’s Future Artists and The Official Chart shows – will be taking on Clara’s role from April 15.
He took to his own Instagram to announce the news, and shared a slew of throwback snaps of himself as a teenager starting in radio.
Alongside he wrote an earnest caption, writing that he had been inspired by Radio 1 DJs as a child and had long held a dream to present Future Sounds.
Jack wrote: ‘ The show (and it’s previous entities) is the premier taste making music show. It has influenced the music taste of generations and I am so BLOODY EXCITED THAT I BROKE DOWN IN TEARS AT A RESTAURANT YESTERDAY WHEN I FOUND OUT that I will get to be the new host of Future Sounds from 15th April 2024.
‘You and me and the best new music on the planet, I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend my weekday evenings. We did it’.
Clara previously explained how she had wanted to be on the radio since she was a child, telling Metro in 2021: ‘I have really distinct memories of being in my room alone as a kid and just listening to the radio for hours, pretending to be the presenter.
‘I would either repeat their words or remix, thinking my 10-year-old self could do better.’
It comes after Clara announced she has quit her presenting job on BBC Radio 1’s Future Sounds
The DJ, who competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2020 with Aljaz Skorjanec, issued a statement on Tuesday and shared a post of her in the recording studio on Instagram
She concluded: ‘I’m energised and excited for my next chapter as part of the network and beyond! See you at 6pm Clara x’ (pictured in May)
She started out as a general office assistant at Kiss FM before becoming a presenter there and joined BBC Radio 1Xtra as host of the weekend breakfast show in September 2013.
She joined Radio 1 in 2015, taking over from Fearne Cotton to host the Live Lounge and interviewed Jay-Z, Dua Lipa, Kendrick Lamar and Ariana Grande in that time.
Clara then took on Annie Mac’s Future Sounds show on Radio 1 from July 2021 until her exit this week.
Outside of radio she has appeared on Strictly, Celebrity Gogglebox, The Weakest Link and RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World.
Clara’s surprise exit is the latest in a mass exodus of radio presenters from the BBC recently.
Earlier this month, Claudia Winkleman announced she will be quitting her Radio 2 show after 15 years on air, with Romesh Ranganathan set to take over.
The same week of Claudia’s exit, beloved BBC radio presenter Andrew Peach also hung up his headphones after 31 years working at the corporation.
The star hosted BBC Radio Berkshire’s breakfast show, which he branded The Peach Show, for 18 years having previously worked elsewhere at the Beeb.
He worked on a number of high profile stories, including the coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s death and also interviewed Prime Minister Teresa May.
Jack Saunders – who presents the station’s Future Artists and The Official Chart shows – will be taking on Clara’s role from April 15
He took to his own Instagram to announce the news, writing an earnest caption that said he had been inspired by Radio 1 DJs as a child and had dreamed of presenting Future Sounds
Outside of radio she has appeared on Strictly, Celebrity Gogglebox, The Weakest Link and RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World (pictured last week)
Last month, Carol Vorderman was axed by BBC Radio Wales for breaching the broadcaster’s new social media guidelines.
The former Countdown star, 62, who has been at the station for five years, said she was ‘not prepared to stop’ venting her ‘strong beliefs’ on Twitter and Instagram.
Ken Bruce also jumped ship from the BBC after 45 years for commercial rival Greatest Hits Radio, declaring: ‘I’ve done everything it is possible to do at Radio 2’.
At the time the Scottish broadcaster, 72, said ‘the time is right’ for him to move on from the weekday mid-morning show he’s presented since 1986 – with just a two year gap between 1990 and 1992 – having first walked into the corporation in 1977.
THE BBC RADIO 2 PRESENTERS TO HANG UP THEIR HEADPHONES
Graham Norton – December 2020
Graham Norton seemingly kicked off the mass departure of BBC radio stars when he quit his Saturday morning slot.
The presenter began hosting his Radio 2 show in 2010, after Jonathan Ross left, but after a decade he left.
In a statement at the time, 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.’
The chat show host then joined Virgin Radio UK in 2021 to host shows on Saturday and Sunday.
Paul O’Grady – August 2022
Paul O’Grady hosted a Sunday show for 14 years on BBC Radio 2, but quit in August of last year.
The host was unhappy about being asked to share duties with Rob Beckett, 37, which saw the comedian taking over for two three-month stints each year.
He told fans: ‘And the reason I’m leaving because everybody’s asked me this. It’s because I wasn’t really happy with the 13 weeks on/13 weeks off business.
‘So, I did the honourable thing and I honoured my contract, gave my notice and now I’m off.’
Speaking to Metro in February, he admitted: ‘I was disappointed because I’m a great believer in continuity.
‘If you go off for 13 weeks and somebody else comes on, the listeners don’t know when you’re back on.’
He also questioned Radio 2’s desire to appeal to younger audiences, saying: ‘Radio 2 has changed, it’s not what it was.
‘They’re trying to aim for a much younger audience, which doesn’t make sense because you’ve got Radio 1. Radio 2 was always for an older audience’.
Paul went on to join Boom Radio for a Christmas Day special and had been due to join the station permanently in May – however he tragically died in March at the age of 67.
Steve Wright – September 2022
Steve Wright presented Steve Wright in the Afternoon on Radio 2 for 23 years, before the show came to an end last year.
While he remained on the network, hosting Sunday Love Songs, along with a new Serious Jockin’ podcast, his afternoon show was replaced by a new show with Scott Mills.
Radio 2 fans deplored the decision with the BBC saying it was seeking to ‘try something different’.
As he exited Wogan House in July, Steve told reporters it was ‘nice of you to come over’, adding: ‘That’s the way it goes… You know, sometimes people want you, sometimes they don’t.
‘Sometimes they want to make changes, give you another offer, and that’s okay, I understand that, I really understand that.’
Craig Charles – June 2022
Craig Charles presented his show Craig Charles’ House Party on Saturdays from 10pm to midnight since 2014.
But his Radio 2 show was axed last summer, sparking uproar from fans.
Craig said in the announcement from the BBC: ‘Every party must come to an end and although I’m packing up my Trunk of Funk on Radio 2, I’ve loved bringing the party to its funky listeners each Saturday night.’
He continued with his how on BBC Radio 6 Music each weekday (1-4pm) and on The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show (Saturday nights, 6-9pm).
Vanessa Feltz – July 2022
Vanessa Feltz quit BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio London after nearly 20 years on air in July last year.
Breaking down on her early morning breakfast show as she announced the news to her listeners, the star, 61, said she would ‘try not to cry’.
She said: ‘I have something to tell you, and I know you already know that I love you – oh I knew I was going to cry but I’m going to try not too…’
‘It has been an honour to share the early hours with you.’
However, Vanessa later claimed her exit was because she was a woman over the age of 60.
Speaking about Ken Bruce’s departure in January on This Morning, she said: ”I can’t speak for him but I imagine that it’s a feeling of some sense of ageism at the BBC.’
She claimed that older presenters are ‘not valued in the same way’, adding: ‘The music isn’t as appealing ’cause they’ve changed it to appeal to a younger crowd they’re so desperate to get.’
Ken Bruce – March 2023
Ken Bruce also jumped ship from the BBC after 45 years for commercial rival Greatest Hits Radio, declaring: ‘I’ve done everything it is possible to do at Radio 2’.
At the time the Scottish broadcaster, 72, said ‘the time is right’ for him to move on from the weekday mid-morning show he’s presented since 1986 – with just a two year gap between 1990 and 1992 – having first walked into the corporation in 1977.
In January, he informed his 9 million listeners he was leaving, but insisted he is not retiring, but heading into commercial radio and taking his much-loved PopMaster quiz with him.
But in September Ken revealed he decided to jump ship before he started to become ‘bitter and entrenched’, saying: ‘It was a long time and I thought I’m doing the same thing every day.’
His slot was then taken over by Vernon Kay, but lost 1.4 million listeners in its first three months without Ken.
Claudia Winkleman – March 2024
This month, Claudia Winkleman announced she will be quitting her Radio 2 show after 15 years on air, with Romesh Ranganathan set to take over.
The presenter, 51, shared the news with her listeners during her show admitting she wishes to spend more time with her children.
She shares Jake, 20, Matilda, 17, and Arthur, 11, with her film producer partner, Kris Thykier, 50, who she married in 2000.
Claudia joined BBC Radio 2 in 2008 to host comedy quiz series Hot Gossip before moving to Friday nights to host the Claudia Winkleman Arts Show.
In 2016, she began presenting Claudia On Sunday and moved to her Saturday morning slot in February 2021, replacing Graham Norton.
Claudia’s final show will broadcast in March, after which she will be replaced by Romesh from April.
The media personality explained how it had been an ‘absolute privilege’ to host the show as she thanked her listeners.
