Veteran radio broadcaster Ken Bruce has received an MBE at Buckingham Palace, as he revealed: “It wasn’t something I ever thought would happen to me.”

On Friday, the former BBC radio presenter, 72, who has an autistic son, Murray, was recognised for his services to autism awareness, radio and charity.

Upon receiving the accolade during the investiture ceremony, Ken said it is “vitally important” that we listen to the autistic community.

After the presentation, he said: “It’s a great privilege to be awarded the MBE – it wasn’t something I ever thought would happen to me.

“I’m delighted it’s been awarded not just for radio, but for autism awareness because I think it’s vitally important that we listen more to the autistic community – to what they have to say, to people who have lots of gifts and abilities that we’re not using enough at the moment.

“So, if this helps in some way to bring awareness a little bit higher in people’s minds, then I’m all for it.”

Ken left BBC Radio 2 in March, having presented his mid-morning programme for more than three decades, and began a new show on Greatest Hits Radio in April.

It comes after new figures revealed Vernon Kay’s BBC Radio 2 show lost 1.3million listeners since he took over from Ken.

The 72-year-old worked at the station for 31 years before leaving and joining Greatest Hits Radio. Vernon, 49, took over the station’s mid-morning slot in May.

But the latest statistics from the radio industry body Rajar, reveal that Vernon is pulling in 6.9million listeners, 1.3million fewer than when Ken was presenting. The quarterly figures span from June to September 2023.

Vernon’s show remains the UK’s most popular on radio, while Radio 2 is still the most listened-to channel in the country. The station registered 13.5million weekly listeners, 1million down on the same period in 2022.

Ken had told the Radio Times that previously he had felt he was “just an afterthought” and had been taken for granted by Radio 2.

He also said he had been struggling to feel enthusiastic about the new music he had to play. It was a “shame” that the station had asked him to finish three weeks before his contract officially ended.

“I was annoyed because I thought, I’m reasonable. I’m not being difficult. Neither were you,” he said. “I think the idea is just to create a bit of space between me and Vernon starting.”