Mayo's awayo

This Thursday sees the latest radio listening figures made public, covering June to September. I'm sure this has nothing to do with the timing of today's announcement from Simon Mayo, that he's leaving Radio 2 at the end of the year - but hacks will re-double their efforts to extract results for the Jo and Simon drivetime show from within the overall ratings.

Agglomerated from Simon's tweets from this morning: "Radio 2 has been a wonderful place for me-my happiest radio I think. Our listeners are really quite extraordinary. One other thing. Maybe it needs to be said, maybe not but so there is no room for argument I’ll be clear. I’ve loved working with the exceptional Jo Whiley and when the show was ‘reconfigured’ she was my first and only choice. Some of the abuse she has had here has been appalling. Support for a show is one thing, assaulting the dignity of a warm-hearted and loyal friend is another. So by all means discuss what’s happening here, but let’s keep some civility. Thank you. Here endeth the lesson. And (one very final thing), as anyone who has worked here will attest, the producers and APs are a class apart. Brilliant production teams make our jobs a joy. Thanks to each and every one. Onwards.”

It wasn't Whiley that got to Mr Mayo; it was the nonsense that his show needed re-invention in the first place. The double-edged sword that required 50% speech in daytime, starting in 2010, had worked well for Mayo and his team.

But Bob Shennan and Lewis Carnie were under immense pressure to deliver more women to the microphone in the weekday schedule; decided not to budge Bruce, Vine or Wright, and picked a successful drivetime show apart for quota delivery.

The move was telegraphed to Simon (they'd have preferred him to 'retire', but he hung on to prepare a new portfolio of writing and broadcasting) and now Shennan and Carnie have new problems. Whilst the gender issue has been eased by the impending arrival of Zoe Ball at Breakfast, they've decided to move Jo Whiley back to her muso-slot of 7-9pm, leaving drive as a clean sheet in the New Year. The issue of women in the listings isn't over, which must give Sara Cox a good chance.