Why is Mollie King leaving BBC Radio One and who is replacing her?

BBC Radio One has announced a shake up to its radio programming with the confirmed departure of another presenter wonder why is Mollie King leaving and who is replacing her?

Over the last few months a number of presenters have left the station including Chris Stark who left alongside Scott Mills and on BBC Radio 2 Steve Wright quit which has left some listeners disappointed.

So it's only natural that fans of The Saturday's star Mollie King are wondering why the host is leaving her presenting duties behind as we look at all you need to know...

Why is Mollie King leaving BBC Radio One?

Mollie King is leaving BBC Radio One because she is taking maternity leave and will be leaving the station on Friday, October 28th. The singer, who confirmed back in June that she is pregnant with her and fiancé Stuart Broad's first child, will be preparing to welcome her baby in the coming weeks.

The couple got engaged last January and the exact date when their baby is due to arrive has not been revealed, however, the earliest maternity leave can start is 11 weeks before the due date, and Stuart and Mollie hinted that the baby is due "later this year" in the Instagram posts announcing the pregnancy.

Who is replacing Mollie King on BBC Radio One?

BBC Radio One has confirmed that Made In Chelsea's Jamie Laing will be replacing Mollie King on her weekend show, joining Matt Edmondson to host the 1pm-4pm (Friday-Sunday) starting October 28th and Maia Beth will replace Mollie on her Future Pop show (Thursdays, 8pm-10pm) starting 3rd November.

Jamie is a presenter, podcaster and entrepreneur who currently presents the hugely successful Radio 1 podcast ‘6 Degrees from Jamie and Spencer’ for BBC Sounds. As well as this, he can also be heard on popular podcasts ‘Private Parts’ and ‘NearlyWeds’. He is also a firm TV favourite, first making his debut on E4’s ‘Made in Chelsea’ and most recently hosting the BBC Three show ‘I Like The Way U Move’ and reaching the Grand Final of Strictly Come Dancing 2020.

Jamie Laing says, “Presenting on Radio 1 is honestly a dream come true!! I simply can’t wait to begin!!”

Speaking about Mollie's departure, Matt Edmondson admitted, “I’m going to miss Mollie so much whilst she’s on ‘Matt Leave’, and although she is literally irreplaceable, we are going to temporarily replace her." 

He explained, "All I asked for was someone funny, blonde, and a little bit posh, and the universe delivered in the shape of Jamie Laing! I’m a huge fan of Jamie’s and I’m so pleased he’s agreed to step in and co-host the show with me after several begging emails.”

Meanwhile, Maia Beth who is covering Mollie’s Radio One Future Pop show (Thursdays, 8pm-10pm), was given her first opportunity to host on the station during the 2021 festive period as part of Radio 1’s Christmas Takeover - an initiative created by Head of BBC Radio One, Aled Haydn Jones - which provides a valuable springboard for emerging presenters, giving them a once in a lifetime opportunity to broadcast on the UK’s biggest youth radio station. 

From there she has hosted special events for BBC Introducing and currently presents Radio One’s Best New Pop Extra and Pop Right Now on BBC Sounds, where she has interviewed stars such as Mimi Webb and Tom Grennan. 

Maia Beth said, “This is such a dream! I am buzzing to be bringing you two hours of the very best new pop artists every week. How exciting that you can tune into me on Future Pop and hear a future stadium headliner for the first time!

“All my love to the original pop princess Mollie King in her maternity - pinky promise I’ll proper look after the show for you!”

Aled Haydn Jones, head of BBC Radio One, added, “I’m so excited to welcome Jamie and Maia to Radio 1, I know our audience will love them. I’d also like to wish Mollie the best of luck for this new and exciting chapter.”

Jamie Laing will join Matt Edmondson to host the 1pm-4pm weekend (Friday-Sunday) show on Radio 1 starting October 28th and Maia Beth will host Mollie's Radio One Future Pop show from Thursday, November 3rd from 8pm-10pm.