Bill Turnbull is to leave BBC Breakfast

Bill Turnbull has announced he is leaving BBC Breakfast after nearly 15 years.

The presenter told the Daily Mirror his tenure was "more than enough for me and the audience. So it is a good time to call it a day and do something else".

"It was a long-term decision. I could see this coming up, and it was always the plan."

He said he wants to spend more time beekeeping, which he said he had been "neglecting for far too long".

Earlier on Wednesday, during BBC Breakfast's paper review, Turnbull commented on the Mirror article .

BBC Breakfast tweeted a picture of Bill on the sofa with his co-stars in tears around him.

"It's true, I'm going to leave the programme at the end of January because 15 years is long enough. I'll be sad to leave you.

The breakfast show tweeted a picture of the 59-year-old presenter on the sofa with his co-stars Louise Minchin, Sally Nugent and Steph McGovern, in tears around him.

Sports presenter Nugent tweeted he had earned a lie in: "But we will miss him. I know he pretends to be grumpy but he's really not ;)."

Turnbull said he will not miss his early 0300 rises.

"You get hardened to it and I have done it thousands of times and it still never gets any easier."

Breakfast weather presenter Carol Kirkwood, who is rehearsing for Strictly at the moment, tweeted she was "really really going to miss" her "lovely wonderful friend".

BBC Breakfast editor Adam Bullimore paid tribute to Turnbull saying he "is a huge part of the BBC Breakfast success story and will leave a big gap on the sofa when he leaves next year".

"He is massively popular with our viewers who love the way he is able to deliver serious news but also bring them a smile as they get up and get ready in the mornings."

The BBC said it will announce any changes to the presenter line-up "in due course".