Roman Kemp thanked his listeners for ‘saving his life’ during his battle with depression as he presented his final show on Capital Breakfast on Thursday.
The 31-year-old radio host, who is leaving the station after a decade, credited the show and its listeners with getting him through some of his darkest days.
During his last show, Roman gave a moving speech saying how grateful he was to them for bringing “light and laughter into his life” during his radio appearance.
Roman became emotional as he said, “I know there are a lot of people listening right now, and I wanted to take the time to thank you. I was more nervous saying I was leaving than actually leaving this show.
‘This show is run by so many people behind the scenes who try so hard to give you that little bit of energy in the morning and cheer you up and make you feel good, but I think what I want to convey is how much fun that I have had on this channel for the past ten years.
Roman Kemp thanked his listeners for ‘saving his life’ during his battle with depression as he presented his final show on Capital Breakfast on Thursday
The 31-year-old radio host, who is leaving the station after ten years, credited the show and its listeners with getting him through one of his darkest days.
“It changed my life in so many ways and I grew up in this place, and that’s because you all listened. You were able to be there for me through things I never thought would happen.
“I’ve had moments on this show where my whole life outside of work has been completely shattered. There were times when I didn’t want to be here anymore. There have been times when my life outside of this room has been the worst it has ever been.
‘I know a great life, but in my head it felt like this. I knew that all I had in my life was these four hours a day where I could come to work and in those four hours I knew I would laugh and have fun and be surrounded by people who grab me and those four hours and the people I’m talking about include you – the listeners. You have no idea how much you’ve helped me.’
Roman continued, “I just want to thank you for listening, every text, every phone call, everything. I appreciate it more than you will ever know. I had the most fun and I owe a huge debt to this company for being able to put a point on me.
“I was terrified to take over this show and I’m terrified to leave it. But sometimes with these things you just know when the right time is to move on, and that time is now for me.
“You helped me so much and you always supported me and it was amazing. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, you really saved my life at certain times.”
Roman prepared to host his latest Capital Breakfast show and made sure he dressed for the occasion.
He revealed in a statement last month that he would be quitting the show after ten years of presenting for the channel.
During his final show, he struggled to hold back tears alongside Sian Welby and Chris Stark as he ‘dressed up’ and wore black blazers and bow ties.
Roman shared a series of behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram, sharing a selfie from behind the desk.
“The last one,” he captioned the photo, while another showed Sian in tears.
After the show, Roman will be replaced by Jordan North, 34.
On Wednesday, Roman struggled to hold back tears as his fellow Capital Breakfast stars surprised him by hosting the radio show from the Emirates Stadium dressing room.
On the occasion of his penultimate show, his co-hosts Sian and Chris decided to surprise him by blindfolding the star and then taking him to the home of his beloved football club Arsenal.
Speaking to listeners, Chris explained: “So the story is we’ve been secretly planning this for weeks, and the best part is Roman Kemp still has no idea where he’s going.”
The duo then called Roman, as his car pulled up outside, as Chris said, “To set the scene a bit, am I right in thinking you’re wearing a blindfold at the moment?”
Roman replied, “Well, I’ve been wearing a blindfold for an hour and a while, since I’ve been in this cab.
‘I was a little worried about getting into a car blindfolded and just letting it go wherever. But to be honest, I’m starting to get nervous now.’
He was then led out of the car and led around the stadium, trying to guess his location.
Roman shared a series of behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram, sharing a selfie from behind the desk
“The last one,” he captioned the photo, while another showed Sian in tears
Roman took off the blindfold and gasped, “Oh. Mine. God! This is insane!’
He was handed a microphone when Chris said, “Roman, for anyone listening, where are we doing this morning’s show – your penultimate show?”
A surprised Roman replied: ‘We are in the home of football, we are in the Arsenal stadium! We’re in the locker room!’
He became visibly emotional as he said: ‘This is crazy, how did you do this? This is wild. Can I just say, I’m almost crying. I almost cried when I took that off.
‘This is incredible. This is ridiculous. By the way, we’re live from the dressing room of my favorite in the world. The Emirates Stadium with eBay. This is incredible, isn’t it?’
The surprises for Roman didn’t stop there as Chris serenaded him on the guitar with his own personal rendition of Arsenal’s terrace favorite, The Angel (North London Forever).
He then challenged Roman to test his Arsenal knowledge with a quiz about the football club, promising that if he won, he would live his childhood dream or take a penalty on the Emirates pitch.
Roman added: ‘Tomorrow is the big one. It’s my last show after 10 years at Capital – it’s my last!’ causing Sian to burst into tears.
Chris asked: ‘Sian, are you crying? Oh no! Why are you crying?’
She replied, “Because I suddenly realized that tomorrow is your last show. I’m actually crying. It was just so crazy… Today was such a fun day.
“It was so nice to hear from everyone and, you know, how much you’ve meant to them in all the years you’ve been doing Capital Breakfast.
“To know that tomorrow is the last – and we’ve all been working towards this for so long – it hit me when you said it.”
Roman explained that he wanted his last ever show to be “as normal as possible,” with listeners coming on air to talk to them, and said it would be “a chance for me to say goodbye in a good way to be able to take from you.’
Roman joined Capital in 2014 before hosting the prestigious The Capital Evening Show in 2016.
On Wednesday, Roman struggled to hold back tears as his fellow Capital Breakfast stars surprised him by hosting the radio show from the Emirates Stadium dressing room.
On the occasion of his penultimate show, his co-hosts Sian and Chris decided to surprise him by blindfolding the star and then taking him to the home of his beloved football club Arsenal.
He announced his departure on air last month, before issuing a statement on his social media, saying Capital was his “family” who pulled him back from his “absolute lowest” and helped “make me the man who I am’
In 2017 he moved to Capital Breakfast before appearing nationally on the show in 2019.
He announced his departure on air last month, before issuing a statement on his social media, saying Capital was his “family” who pulled him back from his “absolute lowest” and helped “make me the man who I am’.
He concluded: ‘When I started doing this show I was told to remember that it’s like a table at the pub with your friends and one seat is empty so the listener can come and laugh along…
“Well, now it’s time for me to give my seat at the table to someone else.”
Listen to Capital Breakfast with Roman, Chris and Sian weekdays from 6am to 10am in the UK, on air and on Global Player.
