Legendary DJ Tony Blackburn, who left Bournemouth in the 1960s to find fame and fortune, is to rejoin the BBC presenting Pick of the Pops on Radio 2.

The Poole doctor’s son, who coined the phrase “Poptastic,” attended Castle Court School in Parkstone before completing a business studies diploma at Bournemouth College. He embarked on a broadcasting career after singing on stage at Bournemouth Pavilion.

Blackburn made his name on the offshore pirate radio ships after responding to a £25 bet and scaling the mast of Radio Caroline. He opened BBC Radio 1 in 1967.

A controversial career followed with Blackburn occasionally clashing with his bosses and being sacked on more than one occasion.

In 2002 he was crowned king of the I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! jungle and, at the age of 67, is returning to BBC Radio. From Saturday he will host the Saturday afternoon show.

Blackburn said: “Coming to Radio 2 is a dream come true for me. Returning to a national radio station is terrific. I’m a great admirer of BBC Radio 2 – it’s the station that I listen to.”

Each week Pick of the Pops, which was first broadcast in 1955, takes a look at the music releases from that week in a particular year, ranging from 1960 to the present day.

Blackburn added: “Pick of the Pops is such an iconic show. I was very friendly with Fluff Freeman [Alan Freeman] who presented it for many years. We used to meet up for Sunday lunch every week and then I’d go off and do the Top 40 on Radio 1. I just hope I can do Pick of the Pops as well as he did.

“I’ve been very lucky. I realised that Radio Caroline would change the whole of broadcasting and it did. And, likewise, I recognised how huge BBC Radio 1 was going to be. Radio 2 is the natural progression – it’s just taken me a while to get there.”