Latest news about BBC Radio 2

Fifty years of Bob Harris on air to be marked at Radio 2

Greg James will interview radio legend Bob Harris about his 50 years in broadcasting as part of the BBC Radio 2 summer schedules. The programme called ‘Bob And Greg’ airs on Saturday 22nd August at 9pm. The Radio 1 Breakfast presenter grew up with Bob’s famous whispering voice coming out of the radios at home as his father, Alan, has been a fan since Bob’s first broadcast on Radio 1 in August 1970. Greg will talk in depth to Bob about his life – including writing sleeve notes for an unknown Elton John, watching Bob Marley play, and touring with bands like Led Zeppelin; his influences and his constant search for the next big thing...

What does the BBC’s Annual Plan say about Radio?

OPINION: The BBC is required to publish its annual plan each year. Just as with every broadcaster, however – and every industry – this year’s is atypical. Even when the COVID crisis abates, life will never be the same again. My notes here focus largely on radio, but it is worth citing the general headlines from the report, which bear out Ofcom’s latest research published yesterday: “As social distancing began in the UK in the third week of March, pan-BBC reach among adults peaked at 94%. That is: 94% of the British public used the BBC that week. 86% of young adults aged 16-34 used the BBC that week, up from 77% the week before”...

Zoe Ball's BBC Radio 2 show loses a million listeners

Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 show has lost 1 million weekly listeners since she replaced Chris Evans as presenter of the UK’s most popular breakfast show. Ball, who admitted in a recent interview that losing listeners is something she “takes completely to heart”, has seen her audience decline dramatically since Evans’ departure. He broadcast his final show on Christmas Eve 2018, and is now at Virgin Radio. Ball drew an average of 8.1 million weekly listeners to her breakfast show in the first quarter of this year, compared with the 9.1 million listeners Evans attracted in the final quarter of 2018. In an interview with Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in February, Ball admitted that...

RAJAR Q1 2020: London and national brands roundup

BBC Radio 2 has lost almost a million listeners in the last year, according to the Q1/2020 audience research from RAJAR. The reach of the UK’s biggest radio station fell from 15.356m at the start of 2019 to 14.362m over the first three months of this year. The two biggest commercial radio networks – Heart and Capital – both lost significant reach over the 12 months too. The Heart network lost 787,000 listeners to leave a reach of 7.737m, while Capital dropped 815,000 to 6.386m. When you add in the other Heart and Capital branded stations – 70s, 80s, 90s, Dance, Xtra and Xtra Reloaded – the Heart brand reaches 9.365m and the Capital brand 7.502m...

Radio presenter special version of PopMaster planned

BBC Radio 2 has announced a special radio presenter version of PopMaster, which will air on the station on Bank Holiday Monday at the end of this month. Instead of just being in its usual 10.30am slot, the feature will run through the day on 25th May, with separate rounds taking place from 7.35am to 5.30pm. Presenters taking part in the quiz will include Zoe Ball, Greg James, Dotun Adebayo and Magic’s Ronan Keating – as well as other as-yet-announced BBC and commercial radio hosts. Ken Bruce will be quizmaster for hourly heats through the day, starting on the breakfast show with Dermot O’Leary, running through...

Winners announced for Young Audio Awards 2020

All the winners from this year’s Young Audio Awards have been announced during an online awards ceremony hosted from home by Award Ambassadors Matt Edmondson and Mollie King from BBC Radio 1. They were joined by special guests including Annie Mac presenting Best in Music to 15-year-old Oli Hackett, whose show, Musicals My Way, is syndicated from his home in Corby and airs across 43 different radio stations around the world, including in the USA and Spain. Other presenters included TV and BBC Radio 2 presenter Rylan, BBC Radio 5 Live’s Laura Whitmore, singer and Hits Radio Breakfast presenter Fleur East, KISS FM’s Tyler West and Swarzy, and BBC Radio 1’s Greg James...

Eurovision 2020 on the BBC

There may be no actual contest happening this year, but the BBC is promising plenty of Eurovision content across TV, radio and online in celebration of the biggest music competition in the world. From a night of special programmes celebrating this year’s contest on BBC One, to revisiting classic moments on BBC Two and a host of specially themed programmes and treats from the archives to enjoy on BBC Radio 2, there will be a host of Eurovision content for fans to look forward to this May. Familiar Eurovision faces including Graham Norton, Ken Bruce, Rylan Clark-Neal and many more will help bring Eurovision joy into homes across the country, uniting and entertaining viewers with plenty of Eurovision programmes and specials in store...

Grand Award for BBC Radio 2’s Beatles documentary

Howlett Media Productions has won the Grand Award at the New York Festivals for a documentary about The Beatles made for BBC Radio 2. Beatles historian Kevin Howlett earned the prize for his musical documentary celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Abbey road. He wrote and produced two documentaries that went deep into the creation of the last album the Beatles recorded together. Himesh Patel, star of the movie Yesterday, presented it, and it was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in the UK and SIRIUS XM in the States. Kevin said: “It is such an honour to have Abbey Road Phase One and Phase Two recognised in this way by an international Grand Jury of very talented radio people...

Radio 1 makes Stay Home Live Lounge to raise money

BBC Radio 1 is to record its biggest ever Live Lounge for charity amid the coronavirus crisis, featuring Dua Lipa, Chris Martin, AJ Tracey, Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding and more. The Stay Home Live Lounge will be broadcast for the first time across Radio 1, Radio 2, 1Xtra, 6Music and Asian Network from midday on Thursday 23 April and will see some of the music industry’s biggest stars collaborate on a cover of Foo Fighters’ ‘Times Like These’ to raise money for charities, with the accompanying video to receive its world exclusive premiere during BBC One’s The Big Night In...

BBC Radio 2 names most played song of the decade

Pharrell’s Happy has been named the No 1 track in the Most Played Songs of the Decade programme broadcast on BBC Radio 2. Scott Mills counted down the Top 40 songs that have been played the most on UK radio and television since 2010, on Bank Holiday Monday from 2-5pm. Pharrell recorded an exclusive video message just for the programme in which he says: “Thank you, thank you. It is incredibly humbling to think that Happy is the most played song across radio in the UK for the past decade. “When I was a little boy hearing those letters, UK, and thinking about the culture and seeing all of my favourite artists that I loved as a child go over and perform big concerts and festivals – I just never ever thought that anything that I would ever do would be part of that history...