Amol Rajan’s farewell proves he was always too big for Today

Anita SinghWed, September 2, 2026 at 10:24 AM UTC

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Amol Rajan signed off from his final ever Radio 4 Today show on Wednesday morning - Jeff Overs

To the strains of the Only Fools and Horses theme tune, Amol Rajan bade goodbye to the audience of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“It was with the spirit of Del Boy that I turned up at this great and noble institution, and it’s to the spirit of Del Boy I return,” he declared.

Actually, his farewell address was more worthy of an Oscar-winner than a Peckham market trader. There was a roll call of thanks, an emotional tribute to his family (his wife, children and mother were all there in the studio), and the kind of grandfatherly reminiscence that is usually delivered by a man twice his age: “You know, when I was a boy…”

That was followed by a list of his childhood heroes. Only Rajan could name-check William Shakespeare, Bertrand Russell, Bob Marley and Shane Warne in the same sentence.

It may have seemed a lot for a presenter who has been with the show a mere five years – John Humphrys was there for 32 – but Rajan is such a big personality that it felt fitting for the end of the programme to transform into The Amol Rajan Show.

Today presenters receive send-offs tailored to their style. Humphrys was honoured by past prime ministers. Mishal Husain exited with her customary elegance and understatement.

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Rajan’s departure was filled with jokes and references to his personal passions, which include cricket and drum and bass music. This is probably the last time that we will hear the lyric “wicked, wicked, junglist massive” on Radio 4 at breakfast.

Rajan took over from Jeremy Paxman as the host of University Challenge in 2023 - Ric Lowe/BBC

Pre-recorded tributes from his co-presenters were warm and personal. Both Nick Robinson and Justin Webb, men of a certain age and sartorial standard, opened by noting Rajan’s habit of turning up to the office in shorts.

Robinson revealed that Rajan had three tea bags and three sugars in every stewed cup of tea. But he also praised his enthusiasm, intelligence and intellectual curiosity. “When I was a kid there was a great comic I loved called Look and Learn. Amol has always been one to look and listen and learn and to help those who switch on to the programme to do the same. We’ll miss you, Amol.”

Webb said that Rajan had been “a massive, massive benefit to this programme” and praised him as a sympathetic, amiable colleague. Anna Foster thanked him for being “a good colleague and a good person”.

A highlights montage included his interviews with Gareth Southgate and – why did they pick this one, you wonder? – Rajan grilling the boss of GB News and telling him: “You’re not really about news, you’re more about creating noise.”

Rajan presented this final show alongside Emma Barnett. Together, they created a matey, 5 Live-style vibe on Today, which was not to every listener’s taste, but they had an easy chemistry. Luckily, it was a slow news day – unless I was hallucinating, there was a feature about coats for penguins – so the jolly send-off didn’t jar.

“Do you think I’ve made a terrible mistake?” he asked Barnett at one point, of his decision to leave. He hasn’t. Rajan is too big for Today, which was always a stepping stone in his career. His new venture, The Amol Rajan Connection, is going live, an “empire of ideas” encompassing YouTube, Substack, podcasts, books, live events and brand deals. This time next year, he’ll be a millionaire. Del Boy would be proud.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”