Latest news about BBC Radio 4

Ritula Shah joins Classic FM as Margherita Taylor is to host Drive

Margherita Taylor is the new host of Classic FM’s More Music Drive, following John Brunning’s decision to step down. The refresh to the station’s schedule from 17th April will see Margherita Taylor moving from evenings to host the 4pm to 7pm weekday show and Ritula Shah joining from BBC Radio 4 to present Calm Classics, Monday to Friday, 10pm to 1am...

Radio presenter Lauren Laverne speaks out for Sunderland

Lauren Laverne, an honorary graduate at the University of Sunderland, is helping showcase the University in a new promotional video. The Sunderland-born broadcaster voices the video, ‘Think Sunderland’, which celebrates the University’s career-focused courses, facilities, inclusive and culture and everything the city has to offer. Lauren, host of the BBC Radio 6 Breakfast Show and Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs...

Dominic O’Connell joins Times Radio as Business Correspondent

Times Radio has signed Dominic O’Connell as its first Business Correspondent. Dominic joins the NewsUK station on Monday 1 November to provide business reporting from 6am every weekday morning. He previously worked as a business presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, and prior to that was the Business Editor of the Sunday Times...

BBC wins Broadcaster of the Year at New York Festivals Awards

The BBC has won Broadcaster of the Year at the New York Festivals Radio Awards. Most of the Gold Awards went to the BBC or to independent producers working on BBC programmes. Across its radio networks, the BBC collected 14 Gold awards, 7 Silver and 10 Bronze with podcast series’ including I’m Not A Monster, Where Is George Gibney and Fight Of The Century all picking up several each...

Think With Pinker series and podcast coming to BBC Radio 4

Psychologist Professor Steven Pinker is to examine how we can harness rational thinking in a new programme for BBC Radio 4. Think With Pinker is a 12-part series and podcast with guests including Bill Gates, Daniel Kahneman and Hannah Fry. The series will explore questions such as: Whether we should trust intuition or algorithms; how the brain tricks us into seeing patterns in randomness; why the desire to...

Cery Matthews to co- host Radio 4 music programme

A new BBC Radio 4 music programme, Add To Playlist, co-hosted by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye, will explore music through surprising connections between songs and artists. This comes as Radio 4 increases its arts programming, which will also see Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode co-hosting a new film show, Screenshot and John Wilson hosting This Cultural Life, featuring in-depth interviews with the most...

BBC Radio 4 extends Front Row and creates new arts shows

BBC Radio 4’s live arts programme Front Row is to be extended to 45 minutes and three new shows are being introduced. A new film show, Screenshot, co-hosted by Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode, will take listeners on a fresh journey through film and screen culture. A new music programme, Add To Playlist, co-hosted by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye, will explore...

Radio services off-air after fire at a North Yorkshire transmitter site

Local and regional radio stations including Capital, Heart, TFM and BBC Radio Tees have lost their analogue FM services around North Yorkshire following a fire at the Bilsdale mast. National stations Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4 and Classic FM along with local DAB services on the MuxCo multiplexes are also suffering from reduced coverage in the area. Freeview services carried by the site are also off-air...

Sue Perkins to host Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4

Broadcaster, comedian and writer Sue Perkins is the next host of BBC Radio 4’s Just a Minute programme. As a recent guest host and 58-time panellist, Sue takes the host’s chair for the 87th series of Just a Minute, to keep in check fellow long-time participants Paul Merton, Gyles Brandreth and many more all bringing their linguistic A-game to proceedings...

The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed returns to Radio 4

Simon Armitage is heading down the garden path for a second series of The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed on Radio 4. Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, accompanied by his 12-string acoustic, will be Simon’s first guest. Later in the series the Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen, West End theatre director John Tiffany, broadcaster, DJ and gardener Jo Whiley, author JK Rowling and poet Imtiaz Dharker all pay Simon a visit – with further guests to be announced...