Radio News

Scott Mills and Chris Stark bring back the LOLathon

Scott Mills and Chris Stark are hosting another 24 hour LOLathon on BBC Radio 1 for Red Nose Day 2021. The afternoon presenters have done it twice before, with the first one in 2017 causing a few complaints to Ofcom for the middle of the night sex hour and non-innuendo bingo. This year, Radio 1’s LOLathon kicks off on Friday 5th March at 8am and continues until Friday 12 March culminating in the 24-hour marathon show hosted by Scott Mills and Chris Stark. The marathon will commence at 9am on Thursday 11 March and will continue until 9am the following day...

BBC Radio 3 holds 24hr celebration of women composers

BBC Radio 3 will mark International Women’s Day with 24-hours of special programming which puts the work of female composers in the spotlight. As part of this, the station has commissioned two new works which receive their world premiere performances as part of the celebration. Film composer, vocalist and educator Ella Jarman-Pinto has set a text by the poet Jo Brandon for soprano Nazan Fikret and pianist Rebecca Cohen which explores the emotional impact of the pandemic on women, in a piece called Plango: A Cure Lament. It gets its world premiere performance in the drive-time programme In Tune...

BBC Asian Network hires 13 new radio presenters

BBC Asian Network is welcoming 13 brand new presenters to the station following a search for new talent. Each of the new presenters will host their own Sunday shows each between March 2021 – and February 2022 as part of the station’s New Presenter Voices initiative. BBC Asian Network launched the search for new presenter voices in December, searching for talent who have a passion for British Asian culture and the latest in music and entertainment. For several of them, hosting on the Asian Network will be their first ever role in radio, including for Serena from Birmingham, who works as a model and content creator. Serena will be the first of the new DJs to...

Penny Smith to host Drivetime on Scala Radio

Former GMTV anchor Penny Smith is taking over Drivetime on Scala Radio each weekday. In other changes following the departure of Simon Mayo from the daily schedule, Mark Forrest is to host mid-mornings permanently and Angellica Bell is to launch a new magazine style weekend show Saturday and Sunday 10am till 1pm. Simon will launch a new Saturday afternoon show from April called Simon Mayo’s Essential Albums. Jack Pepper will continue in his 3pm slot throughout March before moving to a new showtime of 6pm. Hannah Cox meanwhile moves to Saturday Breakfast at 7am, and Anne Frankenstein joins the Scala team for Sunday afternoons 1-3pm...

Ken Bruce named as Britain’s favourite radio presenter

BBC Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce has been named as Britain’s favourite radio presenter in a new poll. Capital’s Roman Kemp takes second place with BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball in third. Chris Evans takes 4th and Jeremy Vine is in 5th place. Research carried out by digital radio manufacturer Pure also shows millions more Brits have turned to radio since the pandemic, regarding it as a trusted source of breaking news and instant information. Ken Bruce takes the top spot, despite not making the Top 10 in the same survey last year. Here’s how the top 10 shapes up...

Pirate FM and Lincs FM to take Bauer’s chart show

Bauer’s Sunday afternoon chart countdown is to air on Pirate FM and Lincs FM from this weekend. The Hits Radio Network’s ‘UK Chart Show’ is hosted by Sarah Jane Crawford and can be heard across stations such as Metro Radio, Radio Clyde and Radio City. On Lincs FM, it replaces the locally made Top 30 with Joseph Begley, whilst at Pirate FM it provides an alternative to the current non-stop music. Joseph will continue to host his Saturday breakfast show on Lincs FM...

David Kid Jensen gets six part series on Jazz FM

Kid Jensen is joining the team at Jazz FM to host a six-part series about his love for jazz music and to highlight the work of Parkinson’s UK. The former BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, Capital FM, The Jazz and Smooth Radio presenter, who is also an ambassador of Parkinson’s UK, starts his weekly show on Sunday 21st February. Of his new Jazz FM show and passion for the music he will play, David says: “I made my BOAC maiden flight in 1968, landing in London with a toothbrush and a pocket full of dreams and I used to love strolling down Wardour Street, loving venues like Revolution, Ronnie Scott’s, The Cromwellian and the Speakeasy...

Vernon Kay to host Super Bowl LV on BBC Radio 5 Live

The Super Bowl is back on BBC Radio 5 Live for the first time in five years with a new show hosted by Vernon Kay. Live radio coverage of the showdown between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs begins this Sunday at 11pm on 5 Live and BBC Sounds. BBC One will also provide live TV coverage from 11.30pm. Vernon Kay, a frequent visitor to Super Bowl as a fan and broadcaster, is also a former player himself with the London Warriors. His last regular radio show was with Radio X four years ago but he’s also covering on BBC Radio 2 at the moment...

Special Audio Content Fund round gives out £297k

Over 100 radio stations will get special programmes thanks to the latest awards from the Audio Content Fund. There were 19 projects this time around, which was a special round to combat Winter loneliness. The brief for the special round asked bidders to demonstrate how their idea would make listeners feel less lonely, and empower them to combat any loneliness they might be feeling due to lockdown restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The next Funding Round to be announced will be the Standard Round 6, with results in mid-March. So far, the Audio Content Fund has distributed £1.96m since it launched in April 2019...

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...