Peel said BBC schedule 'was killing him'

13 April 2012

DJ John Peel was "worn out" and felt marginalised by the BBC in the weeks before his death, friend and colleague Andy Kershaw said today.

Peel died of a heart attack on Monday night while on holiday in Peru with his wife Sheila.

Kershaw, a DJ on BBC Radio 3, said Peel's schedule at Radio 1 was affecting his health.

Kershaw wrote in an article in today's Independent: "The last time I saw him, he looked absolutely worn out.

"We went to a cafe near Radio 1 and I said 'John, you look terrible'."

Kershaw said his colleague replied that his Radio 1 slot had been moved "and the combination of that and Home Truths (his Radio 4 show) is killing me".

Kershaw added: "He felt he had been marginalised."

Peel broadcast on Radio 1 three times a week in the 10pm-midnight timeslot until July, when he was moved to the 11pm-1am slot.

A Radio 1 spokesman said: "Everyone at the BBC is shocked and upset by John's sudden death. At a time when his family are still in deep mourning - out of respect for them - this is not the time to make remarks or to comment."

Musicians, fellow DJs, BBC colleagues and the Prime Minister have all spoken of the sad loss of Peel.

Hundreds of poignant tributes from Peel's legion of devoted listeners have also flooded the messageboards on the BBC News and Radio 1 websites.

Famed for championing and discovering dozens of major bands, Peel made his name on Radio 1 following its launch in 1967.

His show made the careers of a host of bands, such as Joy Division, The Smiths, Blur, The Undertones and The White Stripes.

Unafraid of taking on new challenges, in 1998 Peel began presenting Radio 4's Home Truths, which collected four Sony Radio awards a year later.

With his late-night weekday slot, the DJ was the only pensioner fronting a show on Radio 1

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