Latest news about BBC Local Radio

Stephanie Hirst leaves BBC Radio Leeds show

Stephanie Hirst is leaving BBC Radio Leeds this week after three years on-air hosting a daily show. She joined the station to host mid-mornings in 2018 but has more recently been presenting 2pm till 6pm whilst all local stations have standardised four hour slots. Stephanie’s last show will be this Friday. She told RadioToday: “Thank you to the BBC for allowing me to live out a childhood dream of working for the corporation. “I’ve worked alongside some of the most talented and...

Local BBC radio stations gets back to business

Local BBC Radio is launching Make a Difference – Back to Business, to support the arts sector in England. The initiative will run across 40 Local Radio Mid-Morning programmes and see presenters go behind the scenes of museums, galleries and theatres leading up to the eagerly-anticipated curtain-raiser in May. Today, BBC presenters will shine a spotlight on the lengths venues have gone to ensure their survival while taking a closer look at...

Claire Sweeney hosts new series on BBC Radio Merseyside

Broadcaster Claire Sweeney is joining BBC Radio Merseyside to host a new series chatting with special guests about their careers, favourite memories and Merseyside heritage. Guests on Claire Sweeney Meets include Jason Isaacs, John Barnes, Holly Johnson, Paul O’Grady and Lady Anne Dodd, the wife of the late legendary comic Sir Ken Dodd. All of the guests are from Liverpool or have a Merseyside connection, and are all either friends of Claire’s or people she has worked with during her career.

April Fool’s Day on Heart, BBC Radio 2, and more

April Fool’s Day pranks have been played on listeners and presenters across the UK once again this year. Including on Heart where Amanda Holden was pranked by her co-workers when she was led to believe she was responsible for a marriage proposal gone wrong live on the air. Watch the short video below to see the whole thing unfold. Also at Heart, Olly Murs pranked evening show presenter Mark Wright by having Mark’s car wrapped in an image of Olly, naked. See how that went down here...

Fire at BBC Radio Stoke takes Breakfast off air

A small fire in the BBC Radio Stoke building meant a delayed start for the breakfast show on Tuesday morning. The station says the team waited outside till the fire brigade made the building safe to enter. The output from BBC Radio Shropshire was heard on Radio Stoke till 7am. In a tweet at 6am, BBC Radio Stoke wrote: We’ll be on air a little later this morning. The fire alarms have gone off at @BBCRadioStoke. Everyone is okay – we’ll be back broadcasting as soon as the fire service says it’s okay to go back in.”...

Little Mix special planned for BBC local radio

Well known bands and artists are lined up for specials on BBC local radio stations this Bank Holiday weekend, including Little Mix. Along with Sir Tom Jones and Beverley Knight, they will be helping BBC Local Radio honour people who have made a difference where they live, as part of a series of special programmes to air this Easter. The stars will say thank you to some of the local heroes whose efforts have been highlighted through BBC Local Radio’s ‘Make A Difference’ introduced by BBC weather presenter Owain Wyn Evans...

Local BBC Radio marks 12 months of Make a Difference

BBC local radio stations across England are celebrating the first anniversary of its Make a Difference campaign on 23rd March. It’s the same date the UK was first put into lockdown, and the network says it has since taken calls from over four million people. To mark the occasion, all 39 local stations are dedicating a day of thanks to those who helped make a difference throughout the last challenging 12 months. Chris Burns, Head of Audio and Digital for BBC England said: “The power of radio is huge when it comes to connecting local communities in their hour of need. The impact of Covid-19 has been reflected by ‘Make a Difference’ across all our local stations and has highlighted acts of kindness and enabled us to share some amazing stories...

Steve Harris has Twitter success with Russell Crowe

BBC Radio Solent’s Breakfast in Dorset presenter Steve Harris has been making headlines after a simple request on Twitter. He sent a message on Tuesday morning asking if anyone knows how he can get a reply from Russell Crowe. Steve wanted him to ask him if he’d record a birthday message for one of his listeners, who is currently sailing around the world in the Vendee Globe race, and happens to be a big fan of the actor...

BBC local radio listeners donate 17,500 devices

The BBC’s Make A Difference: Give A Laptop campaign has seen 17,645 devices donated since its launch on January 7, with a further 30,000 devices pledged by businesses across England. Radio stations have been directing listeners to the local charities collecting devices in their area via the Make a Difference website for individual donations. Meanwhile, businesses, trusts and foundations from all over England have also been getting in touch to pledge devices, money and even data to those who need it most...

BBC Radio Lancashire celebrates 50 years on-air

Lancashire’s local BBC station is celebrating 50 years on-air today and the launch of its Make a Difference Awards. BBC Radio Blackburn, as it was originally know, started officially on January 26th 1971 and expanded to cover the whole county ten years later. And today, key workers from around the area, from doctors and nurses to teachers and bin crews, have come together to form the Lancashire Heroes Choir. More than 50 key workers recorded themselves singing to the Cannon and Ball classic Together We’ll Be OK...