Nick Grimshaw said he has had “the time of my life” as he kicked off his final ever BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show.
The DJ took over the early-morning radio programme from Chris Moyles six years ago but announced his departure in May saying he was “really tired”.
He will be replaced by Greg James and will take over his Radio 1 drivetime slot in a job swap between the pair.
It's our Grimmy's last @R1Breakfast show!
Here he is looking q serious on his first day back in 2012 ❤️
Have a listen here 👉 https://t.co/0FI4IFRLpn pic.twitter.com/AGUNp44vj9
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) August 9, 2018
Grimshaw said: “I’ve had the time of my life doing the Radio 1 Breakfast Show and I’m proud to have been part of such an iconic show.
“Thanks to everyone that has listened and I can’t wait to set my alarm a little later and be back with you all at 4pm from September 3.”
On Thursday, Grimshaw opened with Kanye West and Jay-Z collaboration N***** In Paris – the first song he played when he started the job in 2012.
He joked he was “going to make everyone talk about me” before playing his second song of the morning – dance track Million Voices by Swedish DJ Otto Knows.
This was followed by Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop.
Ben Cooper, Controller, Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network, thanked Grimshaw for “getting up for the country”.
He said: “I’d like to thank Grimmy for doing what I asked him to do, which was take us from a traditional radio station to a multimedia youth brand, now with 10 million weekly listeners, 16 million weekly YouTube views and 10 million social followers.
“I’d also like to thank him for getting up early for the country, enjoy your lie in.”
Grimshaw’s rise to fame has been a rapid one after joining the BBC in 2007, hosting BBC Two youth music show Sound in 2007 alongside DJ Annie Mac.
From there, he went on to host Radio 1’s Weekend Breakfast Show in 2008 until the following year, before moving to hosting the late-night slot on the station.
Grimshaw, who was raised in Royton, Oldham, took over from Moyles at the age of 27 in 2012. The move was deemed controversial at the time due to Grimshaw’s lack of primetime presenting experience.
In 2015, the 33-year-old appeared as an X Factor judge, along with Simon Cowell, Rita Ora and Cheryl, but he departed the role after just one year.
In May 2018, Grimshaw became the Radio 1 Breakfast Show’s second longest-running host in the programme’s history, taking over the previous record held by Tony Blackburn.