Blue Peter host lands 5 Live show

Jones's show will start shortly after he leaves Blue Peter

TV presenter Gethin Jones is to host his own show on BBC Radio 5 Live after he leaves Blue Peter in June.

The Gethin Jones Show, which will focus on entertainment and sport, begins on 5 July and will run for two months.

"I've always loved the station and look forward to bringing my own flavour to Saturday mornings," said Jones, who also presents BBC News programme E24.

The 30-year-old Welshman appeared on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing last year, finishing in third place.

Earlier this month he announced he was leaving Blue Peter after more than three years working on the BBC One children's show.

'Challenge'

Initially Jones's weekly show will be on from 0900 to 1200 BST, although that will change in August to fit around the station's Beijing Olympics coverage.

"I relish a challenge and my first venture into radio will be just that," said Jones, a former rugby player for Lancashire who began his TV career on Welsh channel S4C.

Adrian Van Klaveren, the new controller of Radio 5 Live, said Jones would be "a fresh new voice to capture the spirit of summer."

Eamonn Holmes's programme and panel show Fighting Talk will return in September, after the start of the football season.

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