Radio star Ken Haynes signals end of 35-year career

Now, just weeks after Wogan stepped down from his Radio 2 show, Forth2 legend Ken Haynes has announced his retirement.

Mr Haynes, 76, who lives in Ayrshire, has been on the air for more than 35 years, helping to launch the Forth2 service and making it the most successful AM station in the country.

He has also been responsible for dozens of shows at Forth and at Radio Clyde, where he worked for a brief period.

Over the years he has presented everything from an on-air darts competition to nostalgia and children's shows, and he was an inspiration for many current Forth presenters such as Grant Stott.

The presenter's prodigious workload eased ten years ago following a stroke but he has continued to broadcast his Sunday evening Ceilidh.

Now, however, he has decided to call it a day.

"I remember when I joined Forth, all the equipment scared me," he said. "There was so much to learn, and we also had to sort out international link-ups with Hong Kong and Malta, but I mastered it all quite quickly.

"I'm six years older than Wogan and I've been at it for nearly ten years more. After 60 years as a professional entertainer it's time for me to relax and enjoy retirement."

Originally from Manchester, he began his show business career as a dance band pianist and teamed up with the Glaswegian singer Eddie Robertson to form singing duo Ken and Alan Haynes.

The pair toured variety theatres in England and Scotland from 1954 until the mid-Seventies, and also played abroad at venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York.

He joined the fledgling Radio Forth in 1975, having first become interested in radio broadcasting while touring the BBC studios in Manchester.

Since then he has presented a variety of shows, from Ken's Den on a Sunday morning, which had a 15-year run, to Ken's Ceilidh, which has been on the air for the last 20 years.

Other shows included Breaker Breaker Music Maker which tapped into the CB craze, Country Corner, and a succession of old time nostalgia shows, such as Ain't They Sweet and You Must Remember This.

He was also a long-running children's presenter on Junior Jiggery Pokery, had spells at Radio Clyde and Radio Tay and hosted live shows at The Brunton Halls and the Playhouse Theatre.

Though best known as an on-air talent, Mr Haynes also had a spell in management in charge of the Radio Forth AM service.

Originally known as Max AM, the now Forth2 under his direction had the top AM listening figures in the country. Having launched the station he returned to his first love of broadcasting.

Managing director of Radio Forth, Cathy Kirk said: "We will all be really sorry to see Ken go. He has been a big part of this station for many, many years and really is Mr Forth2."