There’s something missing from my life. It was the moment I dreaded ever taking place. But it happened and it’s as bad as I had feared. The only saving grace is that James Whale’s removal from the airwaves was through being fired and not through death.

That’s how I envisaged it. Tuning in to talkSPORT one night to find out that one of this countries greatest broadcasters had keeled over, with all the feelings of bereavement that is all too common for someone you’ve never met but listened to almost every night for the last 13 years.

He backed Boris Johnson ahead of the London Mayoral elections. TalkSPORT sacked him even before Ofcom completed their investigation.

Whale, who is still a legend in the North-east from his stint as a late night phone-in host on Metro radio in the mid-70s, is a rare breed of broadcaster who can flit seamlessly from smut to international politics seamlessly, while pouring a bucketload of irony over the airwaves at the same time.

Plain talking is something which talkSPORT has tried to patent in recent years. But while George Galloway and Jon Gaunt are both bias and unable to actually conduct a proper discussion without their ego’s getting in the way, Whale gives full satisfaction. All three presenters are confrontational, but Whale is on his own in his ability to articulate and engender genuine affection from a large chunk of his audience.

His removal from the airwaves leaves a hole in my life, as I’m sure it does for many others. Though why he has agreed to jump quickly into a lightweight presenting job with Bid TV is as perplexing as it is saddening.

Still, you can only hope that this TV appearance is brief and does not dilute his standing in broadcasting before another radio job comes along, hopefully on a national station.