Lauren Laverne to step down from 6 Music breakfast

Lauren Laverne has announced she will step down from BBC 6 Music's breakfast show, after taking time away for cancer treatment.

The presenter, who also hosts Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, will hand over the programme to Nick Grimshaw, who has been keeping her seat warm since August.

Laverne will remain on the station, however, taking over the mid-morning slot.

"It has been a huge honour (and so much fun) to host the breakfast show for six wonderful years, but it is time to pass the baton on, and to set my alarm a little later," said the presenter in a statement.

"As listeners will know, I had a really tough 2024 and worried at times that I wouldn't be able to return to the station I love so much."

She continued: "During my recovery I learned all over again about the power of music, the people you surround yourself with and the emotional support and joy radio can provide.

"I'm so grateful to be able to get back to doing what I love and sharing those things with our brilliant listeners every day."

Mary Anne Hobbs, who currently presents 6 Music's mid-morning show will be taking a sabbatical from the station, and will return later in the spring with a new show, the broadcaster said.

Laverne, who started hosting the breakfast show in 2019, has gradually resumed her broadcasting career following "successful" cancer treatment last year,

She returned to BBC One's The One Show in November, as well as Desert Island Discs, last November.

In a post on Instagram at the time, she thanked the "brilliant medical teams who took such great care of me" and "the thousands of people who sent me such beautiful and encouraging messages".

"Most of all [thank you] to my family: my two astounding kids and especially my husband Graeme, who was absolutely extraordinary throughout."

She said in August her cancer had been discovered "unexpectedly during a screening test" and urged anyone who was "avoiding a test or putting off an appointment" to get checked.

She has not specified what type of cancer she was diagnosed with.

Laverne began filling in for Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs in 2018, later taking over as permanent host.

The role has seen her interview the likes of Cillian Murphy, Steven Spielberg, Rebel Wilson, Delia Smith, Kate Mosse and John Legend.

She has previously presented BBC Two's The Culture Show and Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live, and in the 1990s was a singer and guitarist with alternative rock band Kenickie.