Veteran DJ Tony Blackburn, 81, admits his claim of sleeping with 250 women was ‘made up’ for his autobiography because it didn’t have enough ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’

He left fans with raised eyebrows when he claimed to have slept with 250 women before settling down.

But despite once being a Romeo who roared around swinging London in his E-type Jag, Tony Blackburn admits he ‘made up’ how many sexual encounters he enjoyed before marrying his wife Debbie in 1992.

The veteran DJ, 81, said he plucked the number out of the air for his 1985 autobiography when ghost writer Cheryl Garnsey wanted more salacious details.

Blackburn also once claimed the number was as high as 500. However he told Radio Times it was not an accurate number and he did not even read the book before it was published. 

‘She [the writer] said she hadn’t got enough sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll,’ he said.

‘Well, I don’t do drugs and I made up this number because I was fed up being asked about my personal life. Not my best moment, to be honest. I didn’t read my own autobiography. It was stupid.’

Blackburn aired his final BBC local radio show on Sunday after 43 years but will still present Sounds of the 60s and Tony Blackburn’s Golden Hour on Radio 2 at weekends

He married second wife Debbie Thompson a decade after meeting her as a chorus girl in a pantomime he starred in and they have a daughter Victoria, 27. 

Blackburn also has a son Simon, 50, with his first wife Tessa Wyatt. They had been married from 1972-77.

He aired his final BBC local radio show on Sunday after 43 years but will still present Sounds of the 60s and Tony Blackburn’s Golden Hour on Radio 2 at weekends.

He has no plans to retire, saying: ‘I can’t stand the idea of not working. I don’t want to overstay my welcome… but at the moment, it seems all right.’