Tim Westwood, hip-hop’s daffy uncle, has lost his 4-7pm drivetime slot on Radio 1xtra.

Westwood is less then happy with the scheduling decision: on his Twitter feed, the DJ said: “I’ve been sacked from 1Xtra Mon-Fri 4-7pm from sept”. Later self-flagellating missives read “I don’t like gettin fired #Westwoodyourefired” and “Westwood – you’re parred!”. Another Tweet suggested that Westwood’s residency at Proud2 has also been nixed this week – a bad week all in all, then.

The BBC spun it slightly differently, saying in an official statement that Westwood’s drive time show had been “a lot of fun and a great experience”. Westwood will continue to present his regular Saturday evening programme, and will get a 7-9pm slot on a Sunday as compensation for the schedule switch.

Despite being a bit of a clown, the DJ and Pimp my Ride presenter is mostly loved in both the UK and abroad, and his enthusiasm is second to few. Nicki Minaj has already taken to Twitter to defend Westwood, claiming he was the best interviewer she’s ever had, and appears to be already trying to get him work in the States. Westwood’s got a good track record when it comes to hitting the US – past mini-documentary Westwood in Atlanta features some of the most amusing footage you could ever hope to see. We’ve embedded it below.

WESTWOOD in Atlanta by timwestwoodtv