Robert Robinson has chaired Brain of Britain for 34 years, and when it returns without him tomorrow, it will be like Trafalgar Square without Nelson. Richard Edis produced it for 27 years; Kevin Ashman, crowned head of quizzes and a former Brain of Britain, Brain of Brains, Top Brain and BBC1 Mastermind winner, set all the questions for five years.

Heart trouble, sadly, is depriving us of the show’s urbane and witty presenter. Listeners are being kept in the dark about that, and there is no mention of his absence in the new series, hosted by Peter Snow. More than that, there is no mention of the other two. And no mention of any of them in the listings, press information or Radio Times. They have been airbrushed from history; not exactly what Jer-emy Paxman was referring to when he called the BBC “Stalinist”, but a rather good example of it.

Many listeners who tune in tomorrow will be baffled by both the changes and the lack of explanation for them. They will notice other alterations, too. The four contestants no longer come from a different region each week. They are referred to by their first names, so it is now “Peter” rather than “Mr Spicer”. The questions, which under Robinson never even included a single one about Harry Potter, are easier (“Name the animals into which Jesus drove the evil spirits in the land of the Gadarenes”). Hearts will sink.

Earlier this year, Robinson, 79, told colleagues he wanted to step down because of a recurrence of the heart problems that forced him to take a break in 2004. “Peter Snow is filling in for Robert Robinson for this series only,” says a Radio 4 spokeswoman. “Robert very much hopes to return to the chair next year. He specifically requested that no announcement be made regarding his health while Peter is temporarily chairing.” The BBC invited Russell Davies, the 2004 stand-in, who declined because he would be on holiday at the time of recording, then Snow.

The other changes are for the BBC to cut costs: for months, it has been under financial pressure (though it still managed to find £120,000 for new logos for the radio networks). Ashman, for example, was offered a brutally reduced new role: no longer to be the on-stage referee (“Jorkins”), who no longer exists; no longer to compile each edition (ensuring, for example, that the first eight questions were relatively easy, to relax the contestants); and no longer entitled to repeat fees. This was a humiliation and cut his fee by two-thirds: unsurprisingly, he said no.

“The reason I was relieved of the programme was to make savings,” says Edis, now a freelance. “Paul Schlesinger [the BBC’s head of radio entertainment] told me, ‘I cannot afford to pay freelances when I have staff producers twiddling their thumbs.’ But I think the way Kevin has been treated by the BBC is disgraceful and extremely shabby.” Radio 4 replies: “The advantage of a team of question-setters is that there is more of a diversity of questions.”

Ashman was on holiday in New Zealand last week; Robinson did not respond to my approach. Will he really return next year? By then, he will be 80. He will have neither his usual producer nor his Jorkins, nor his format, nor the previous standard of questions. We shall see. Miracles can happen. Get well soon, Mr Robinson.

paul.donovan@sunday-times.co.uk

Editor's choice

• U2 at Nou Camp Stadium, Barcelona
• The 50 Best Movie Villains
• The 15 golden rules of theatre etiquette