Crimewatch exit 'boosted career'

Nick Ross said he would "greatly miss" the show

Outgoing Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross has said that leaving his job after 23 years has bolstered his career.

The 59-year-old, who hosted his final edition of the show on Monday, said he had received a glut of offers since his departure was announced in June.

"Get sacked - it's really good for your career," Ross told BBC One's Breakfast.

He said he was "shoe-horned" from the programme to make way for a revamp, and that his age had been used as a reason to explain his being dismissed.

'Refreshed'

"Nobody said, 'You're fired'," Ross said. "It's all been grown-up and cordial," added the broadcaster, who appeared on the first edition of Crimewatch in 1984.

"I'm honestly looking forward to the last night and tomorrow," said Ross on Monday's Breakfast programme.

He added that he had been "pretty lucky" at having such a long run at the helm of the BBC One programme.

Ross presented the show with Jill Dando before her death in 1999

Ross is set to pursue other projects, and has indicated his continuing commitment to the Jill Dando Institute, set up in memory of his former Crimewatch co-host, who was murdered in 1999.

He has called the programme a "national institution" and said last month that he would "greatly miss" being at its helm.

His current co-presenter, Fiona Bruce, will continue in her role, while BBC commissioning editor for factual features Ben Gale said "every long-running strand needs to be regularly refreshed".

According to the BBC, Crimewatch solves one in five cases that are featured on the programme.