Bolton-born Vernon Kay is to replace Ken Bruce on the prime Radio 2 mid-morning slot

Vernon Kay, who grew up in Bolton, is set to replace veteran broadcaster Ken Bruce on Radio 2's prime mid-morning weekday slot.

Bruce will present his last show on 3rd March after 31 years in the chair.

Vernon Kay will take over the mic in May and he's already familiar to listeners having presented his own BBC Radio 1 show between 2004 and 2012, and another on Radio X between 2015 and 2017.

He's also served his time on Radio 2, previously filling in for presenters including Zoe Ball, Steve Wright, Rylan Clark and Dermot O'Leary.

But his long and varied career has taken him from shop assistant to TV star, via modelling and presenting - and it all may never have been if it hadn't been for a night out with his mates.

At the time he was working in his cousin's DIY shop.

He was asked to do a catwalk by a scout while attending the BBC Clothes Show Live.

As a result he was invited to London and did a number of magazine modelling gigs.

Kay later moved into presenting and has hosted TV shows for ITV including All Star Family Fortunes, Splash!, Just The Two Of Us, Beat The Star and 1,000 Heartbeats.

He has also hosted coverage of Formula E motor racing, and previously said he thinks sports presenting is more difficult than some of his previous jobs.

But he's used to roughing it too having appeared on the 20th series of I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! in 2020. He finished in third place behind radio DJ Jordan North and podcaster and presenter Giovanna Fletcher, who was crowned Queen of the Jungle.

Of his new gig Kay says, "I'm absolutely over the moon to be handed the microphone to present the mid-morning show on Radio 2, and what an honour to follow in the footsteps of the mighty Ken Bruce.

"I look forward to playing some of the best music in the world whilst in the company of the Radio 2 listeners who I feel I've got to know over the last 18 months. It's a dream come true to join the Radio 2 family and I can't wait to start."

Kay has been married to Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly, 53, since 2003 and the couple have two daughters, Phoebe and Amber.