Vernon Kay has shared his relief that he is “still employed” at the BBC. The Radio 2 presenter launched his broadcasting career over 25 years ago when he joined the youth-oriented T4.

In 2004 landed a slot on BBC Radio 1 presenting an entertainment show every Sunday. Four months after joining the station he was given the 10am to 1pm weekend slot that had been vacated by Colin Murray and Edith Bowman. Vernon however decided to hang up his headphones in 2012, announcing he wanted to spend more time with wife Tess Daly and daughter Phoebe and Amber. He was replaced by presenter Matt Edmondson.

Alongside his radio duties, Vernon has presented shows such as Family Fortunes and Vernon Kay’s Gameshow Marathon. He however made a return to radio when he joined the newly launched Radio X in 2015, remaining there for two years.

After nine years away from the BBC, Vernon returned to cover for Rylan Clark in 2021, later covering for the likes of Steve Wright and Dermot O'Leary. He landed the mid-morning slot in 2023, taking over from the legendary Ken Bruce.

Now, on his Radio 2 show, Vernon has expressed his relief at still working for the corporation. It came after he momentarily forgot the name of a long-standing colleague.

Introducing his on-air team, Vernon said: “We’ve got the wonderful , the amazing Janice, Janine, and there she is….and….what’s her name…Jennifer, happy Jennifer. We’ve got Janice Janine and Jen, who I have known for a very, very long time, since we were at Radio 1, 10…five…three years ago, it was a long time.

“To be honest, Jennifer and I are still happy that we’re employed. Considering the very low bar that we raised ourselves when we started our careers in broadcasting, we’ve done really well Jennifer.”

Elsewhere, Vernon had some “bad news” for fellow Radio 2 presenter Gary Davies earlier this week. After returning from his holiday, Vernon and Gary were set to play a round of golf together later in the week.

However Vernon revealed he suffered an injury at home while moving furniture around. He said: “I've got some bad news Gary. I was lifting furniture on Friday, I've pulled my back. Chiropractor this week."

Gary replied: "So we're going to have to delay our game?" Vernon jokingly suggested they could still go ahead with their round, but that Gary would walk away the winner. Gary responded: "Then let's go out. It's the only chance I'll ever get."

Vernon, however, remained concerned about his ability to complete their local course. He added: "Where we play they don't have buggies so I can't." His radio colleague reassured him they would manage to secure a round, explaining: "We do. Because I'm also a little bit crocked, I've got a dodgy achilles, a dodgy knee, so I've been buggying around."

Vernon suggested they would need to "see how the chiropractor goes" to determine whether they could take to the course. Though he admitted he would be eager to get out given the "weather is beautiful".

It isn’t the only time Vernon has been candid about his health this week either. He revealed he has been struggling with Morton's neuroma, a nerve disorder that impacts the third and fourth toes.

According to the NHS, the condition involves a "thickening of tissue" surrounding a nerve in the foot. Sufferers typically experience what's characterised as a "shooting, stabbing or burning pain," or the peculiar feeling of having stepped on a pebble.

Luckily for Vernon however, he had a chance encounter with a man who could help his condition. He explained: “I've got Morton's neuroma, it's a nerve issue between the third and fourth toe on your foot and it's so painful. So yesterday I was at the services, I was charging the electric car, and I was struggling a little bit with the machine that actually does it, I was faffing around.

"There's no instructions, it just assumes that you know how to do it, and I didn't. I didn't know how to pay, I didn't know how to get it started. Anyway, we got there in the end and this gentleman who was parked in the bay next door to my car wound down his window and said, 'Hi Vernon,' I said, 'How are you?'

"We shook hands, he said, 'You alright there? You struggling?' I said, 'A little bit, I think it's working now'.

"When we said that it went [buzzing noise] and then it started to charge my car. We got chatting away, 'Where you going? Blah blah blah.' Said, 'I'm going just down the road but I've run out of energy so I'm just topping up my car'. 'Brilliant, what do you do for a living?' 'I'm a foot specialist'."

Vernon explained the bloke then revealed his name was Nick. He carried on: "I said, 'Nick, open your passenger door please'. He said, 'What?' I said, 'I've got a serious foot issue, you need to look at it, it's killing me'. He went, 'Are you serious?' I went, 'Yeah'.”

It ended up with the star booking a consultation at Nick’s practice where he says he will get steroids for his condition. The NHS advises people to speak to their GP if their foot pain is stopping them from doing normal activities or is getting worse. Alternatively if it doesn't improve after two weeks or if you have tingling, weakness, or numbness, you should visit your doctor.