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Ross to leave the BBC Jonathan Ross, one of the BBC's highest paid stars and biggest ratings winners, has announced he is leaving the Corporation after 13 years. Ross, whose chatshow Friday Night With Jonathan Ross is a perennial success for pubcaster BBC1, has been a figure of much controversy for the broadcaster during his tenure. He was suspended for three months in 2008 after making a series of lewd phone calls on BBC Radio 2, and his salary – reported to be as high as £6m (US$9.5m) per year – has been the subject of much media discussion. Ross, who also has a film review programme on the Beeb, was reportedly in the middle of contract renegotiations ahead of his current deal drawing to a close this July. However, he has today announced that he will not be staying with the public broadcaster. He said: "Over the last two weeks I have decided not to re-negotiate when my current contract comes to an end. I would like to make it perfectly clear that no negotiations ever took place and that my decision is not financially motivated. "I signed my current contract with the BBC having turned down more lucrative offers from other channels because it was where I wanted to be and – as I have said before – would happily have stayed there for any fee they cared to offer, but there were other considerations. "I love making my Friday night talkshow, my Saturday morning radio show and the Film Programme, and will miss them all. I look forward to continuing work on these shows until the summer, and I will continue hosting the Bafta Film Awards, Comic Relief and other BBC specials." Adam Benzine 7 Jan 2010 © C21 Media 2010 
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