Heart FM fires Clarence Ford
Heart 104.9FM has fired radio legend Clarence Ford - a day after he announced his decision to quit the popular Cape Town station.
Clarence, 54, who had been with Heart for 24 years, said he was on his way to the studios in Green Point for his regular 12-3pm lunchtime show on Monday, when he got a phone call from programme manager Vernon Nel informing him of his dismissal.
“I got a phone call to say there is a letter that I must read,” said Clarence, who was due to hang up his mic at the end of February. “And the letter says my services are not required any longer.”
He immediately phoned station manager Renee Redelinghuys for clarity and was told his contract was terminated with immediate effect.
In a statement on Monday afternoon, Heart thanked Clarence and said though they were “sad to see him leave”, the station needed to change with the times.
“With an ever-changing radio landscape over the past few years, and constantly changing listening patterns, we have had to consider options around retaining existing audiences as well as growing for the future, with a view to remaining one of the top radio stations in the province – this has resulted in refreshing our line-up.
“While we would have preferred to retain the services of Clarence Ford in some way or form by retaining his beloved Sunday show, for example, he has elected to make a clean break from Heart FM sadly, which we have had to accept, respect, and support that he makes this decision for his own best interest at heart,” they said.
Clarence’s sacking follows his revelations in a Weekend Argus interview that bullying by a senior manager resulted in his decision to walk out.
Former Heart staff members also spoke of a toxic work environment where bosses allowed sexual harassment to go unpunished.
“I’ve had some run-ins with management. And there was a particularly bad one in February where I had to draw the line,” he explained.
He added: “I demanded that they (management) rein in the bully and they refused to, or didn’t feel it necessary. I said I can’t respect this kind of behaviour. And if they’re going to remain silent, they would be complicit, and I couldn’t stay.”
The incident he refers to is with Denver Apollus, the head of radio innovation and the second most senior manager at Heart FM.
Responding to the allegations of bullying, Apollus said “Clarence is definitely talking about me”, but insisted there was “absolutely no truth” to the claims.
“It’s definitely not the reason for Clarence’s departure. I don’t even engage much with Clarence. I don’t know where the bullying comes from. He doesn’t even engage with management much."
Clarence - who has a weekly Sunday evening slot, called Me Time, and a weekday lunchtime programme - revealed the writing was on the wall after contract talks Vernon Nel, the programme manager, last month.
He said he was only offered the Sunday night show, and that “a reposition of the business” meant he was no longer needed in the weekday line-up.
Clarence went into work as usual for his 6pm show on Sunday. Little did he know it would be his last.
“I obviously wanted a chance to say goodbye and I was deluded to think I’d be given the chance. It’s been a long ride and you obviously want to say thank you. There’s been a lot of love and it’s been a great journey. I don't get to say thank you. It is sore,” he sobbed.
“I’m at peace. But I always wanted to say goodbye. I knew it was going to happen, I just thought it was going to happen at the end of February. And it’s come earlier and I don't get a chance to say goodbye.”
Clarence, who became a household name at Good Hope FM and P4 in his 32-year career on air, said he would be exploring entrepreneurial opportunities after leaving Heart.
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