Radio News

Presenter Alice Levine leaves BBC Radio 1

Alice Levine has announced she is leaving BBC Radio 1 after nine years at the station. Her last programme will be on Sunday 9th August after which Dev and Jordan North will share the Friday to Sunday 11am to 3pm slot. Alice has thanked people she has worked with at the station via an Instagram post, saying the time is right to hang up her headphones and say goodbye to Radio 1. She has also hinted at joining a new station saying listeners will be able to contact her on a new number soon, rather than the BBC Radio 1 text number 81199...

Louise Sutton returns to BBC Radio 5 Live

Series Editor of Football Focus Louise Sutton is heading back to 5 Live as Editor of 5 Live Sport. The appointment means a return to 5 Live Sport for Louise, who had previously spent seven years with the station from 2006 and covered events such as the London 2012 Olympics. After a period working in the independent production sector, Louise returned to the BBC in 2016 as a series editor across its range of football programmes and as Executive Producer of the Women’s Football Show. Louise will take up her new post from 1st September 2020 and will lead the 5 Live Sport radio and podcast team in the production of content for 5 Live, Sports Extra and BBC Sounds...

Live music returns to BBC Radio 3 Drive-Time

Live music is returning to BBC Radio 3’s drive-time show today following months of lockdown. In Tune will feature a live performance by members of Aurora Orchestra from the BBC Radio Theatre at 5pm. The feature has not been possible since March but today, following strict social distancing procedures the programme will transmit a live performance for the first time in nearly four months. Sean Rafferty – presenting from the Radio Theatre but without an audience in the auditorium – will welcome violinists Jamie Campbell and Alessandro Ruisi; violist Hélène Clément; cellist Reinoud Ford; and harpist Sally Pryce as they perform music including:...

Bauer starts to roll out Hits and Greatest Hits to new radio stations

24 local radio stations are stepping up their transitions to Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio from next week as part of Bauer’s plans to integrate the four groups acquired last year. From Monday 13th July, former Wireless and Celador stations that are becoming Greatest Hits Radio will feature shows from presenters including Mark Goodier, Pat Sharp, Andy Crane, Rossie and Alex Lester. The stations will retain their existing breakfast shows in the run-up to early September when they will fully switch over to Greatest Hits Radio. For the time being, Rossie – who does the Greatest Hits Radio national breakfast show – will be on these 21 stations at drivetime...

Samantha Moy appointed 6 Music Head of Station

BBC Radio 6 Music’s Head of Content Commissioning Samantha Moy has been appointed as the new Head of Station. Sam was previously the station’s Network Editor having originally joining 6 Music and latterly Radio 2 as Executive Producer, overseeing shows like Steve Lamacq and Steve Wright In The Afternoon. She started her career in radio at Kiss 100 in London, joining independent production company Somethin’ Else to produce programmes for Radio 1, Radio 2 and the BBC World Service. Sam then joined..

Ian Collins leaves BBC Radio Kent for talkRADIO

Presenter Ian Collins has left BBC Radio Kent where he has been hosting breakfast for the last 20 months. He joined in October 2018 to co-host Breakfast with Anna Cookson but all BBC local radio schedules are changing to have single presenters hosting four hour shows. Ian is now hosting afternoons on talkRADIO, weekdays from 1pm till 4pm. It marks a return to the brand for Ian, who worked at the original national speech station from 1995 to 2011. He says: “Being back on talkRADIO feels more like a privilege than a job. The news agenda is such a busy place right now and it’s never been more important to be part of a format that reflects the full range of views out there, and also to bring some positivity back to current affairs radio."...

Sir Trevor McDonald to present on Classic FM

Classic FM has hired Sir Trevor McDonald to host a special four-part Sunday evening series starting on July 12th. Sir Trevor McDonald’s Headliners will celebrate the musicians who make, or have made, the headlines around the world. They include Jacqueline du Pré, Maria Callas and André Previn, plus Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Martha Argerich and Maxim Vengerov. Sir Trevor McDonald said: “Presenting programmes about the music I love has long been on my bucket list, so I was delighted when Classic FM asked me. I am looking forward to sharing the world’s greatest music and the headlines behind that music with listeners.” ...

Capital XTRA VO meets the London Underground voice

One of the latest Tales from the Tannoy podcasts by Elinor Hamilton features a moving edition with Capital XTRA voice-over Rio Attoh-Wood. Elinor took the opportunity to look beyond the usual roster of white voice-overs in the industry for her podcast series due to the recent Black Lives Matter movement. This episode has been described as one of the most powerful conversations on the subject, with a hint of the radio and voice-over world included. On the surface, it’s a discussion between the Capital XTRA voice-over and the London Underground voice, but it goes much deeper...

Asian Network holds leavers party on the radio

The BBC Asian Network hosted an on air leavers’ party for the hundreds of thousands of pupils around the country who will be leaving school this summer without a celebration. Breakfast presenter Harpz Kaur hosted the event, with celebrity surprises from names such as Arjun, Jaz Dhami, Mickey Singh and an extended Love Friday mix during the morning show. Harpz Kaur said: “I remember how excited I was counting down the days to my Prom and saying bye to my friends and teachers at school. Due to lockdown – it’s been so hard for students in that position, who right now would have been excited to wear that dress, or get a fresh fade!"...

BBC Radio 5 Live takes overnights back from Local Radio

Dotun Adebayo is starting his new role as 5 Live’s weekday overnight presenter from next week – three months later than originally planned. Dotun was announced earlier this year as the replacement for the departing Rhod Sharp, and was due to take over the Monday to Friday 1am-5am slot from the start of April. But the Coronavirus pandemic meant that instead he has been hosting overnight shows for BBC Radio London, which the rest of the BBC Local Radio network – as well as 5 Live – have been opting in to...