BBC 5 Live DJ quits after 23 years to pursue a career in stand-up comedy

‘I no longer feel any challenge in broadcasting,’ the presenter explained

Nihal Arthanayake, who resigned from the BBC last month, is set to make a dramatic pivot to a career in comedy.

The 54-year-old worked at the broadcaster since 2002, presenting a range of shows across Radio One and the Asian Network. In 2016, he joined 5 Live as co-host of the “Afternoon Edition”, which was broadcast from 1pm to 4pm from Monday to Thursday.

Arthanayake quit his role in June 2025, having repeatedly called out the organisation for a lack of diversity, something he said was impacting his mental health.

Speaking to The Times, the presenter said that the corporation is in an “existential crisis” and that he “couldn’t be happy there any more”.

Nihal Arthanayake has worked at the BBC for 23 years (PA)

Arthanayake – who cites his comedy heroes as David Letterman, Dave Chappelle and Romesh Ranganathan – is set to make his stand-up debut on Saturday (26 July) at the Battersea Arts Centre.

“I’ve spent most of my life in a radio studio in front of a microphone on my own. I no longer feel any challenge in broadcasting,” he said.

Taking a significant pay cut to pursue his dream, Arthanayake admitted that the idea of changing careers is “terrifying”, but added that he has a “bizarre optimism that it will all be OK”.

His stand-up experience is limited to just a few minutes on his own radio shows and hosting gigs. At one event, he mocked Sadiq Khan, joking: “There goes Sadiq Khan, the son of a bus driver — although you’d never know it because he never mentions it.”

Over the years, the Mayor of London has gained a reputation for citing his father’s occupation in interviews.

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Arthanayake believes that his radio skills are transferable to the comedy world, adding that he has experience dealing with hecklers. The presenter, however, is not afraid of failing, stating: “[I want to] know what that’s like to die on stage, because I’ll only get better.”

BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nihal Arthanayake has said an ‘overwhelmingly white’ working environment was affecting his mental health (PA)

He has been outspoken in his criticism of the BBC. In November 2023, while speaking at the Journalism Diversity Fund (JDF) conference at BBC Media City in Salford, Arthanayake said: “I’ve seen a lot of people leave this building because they couldn’t deal with the culture.”

Speaking about the lack of diversity at the broadcaster, he said: “I don’t think there’s a single Muslim involved in the senior editorial processes” at BBC Radio 5 Live.

“The hardest thing is to walk into a room, look around and nobody looks like you.”