Radio News

Danny Baker sacked from 5 Live over chimp tweet

Danny Baker has been sacked from his Saturday morning slot on BBC Radio 5 Live, after apologising for a tweet about the royal baby. He posted an image on Wednesday evening showing a clothed chimpanzee holding hands with a couple, along with the caption ‘Royal Baby leaves hospital’. He quickly deleted the tweet after accusations it was racist, but screengrabs been shared widely on social media and used by the national press.

Matilda New replaces Emma Jones at Signal 1 Breakfast

Former Capital Birmingham breakfast co-host Matilda New has been hired by Signal 1 to co-host Breakfast. She will replace Emma Jones, who has moved on to focus on her television work and weekly Country Hits Radio programmes. Emma will continue to cover at the station during holidays. Matilda said: “I can’t wait to join Foxy on Signal 1 breakfast and look forward to being part of the Signal team!”.

talkSPORT wins FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 rights

talkSPORT will be broadcasting every England and Scotland game throughout next month’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ after winning the rights. Coverage will be led by Natalie Sawyer – presenter of talkSPORT’s Kick Off show and The Times’ The Game podcast. There will be further coverage of the tournament, including the opening game, both semis and final, across talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2, capturing action from France, analysis of the action and build-up.

Eagle Radio to host Radiothon to raise money for charity

Eagle Radio is to host a Radiothon for 12 hours starting on Friday 24th May to help raise money for charity. It will support local charity Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. The Eagle team have set themselves a target of raising £40,000 to help fund one of Phyllis Tuckwell’s nurses, who provide supportive and compassionate end of life care to patients and families across West Surrey and North East Hampshire.

Next wave of star musicians announced as BBC Radio 3 reveals New Generation Artists 2019-2021

BBC Radio 3 has announced the seven musicians from around the world who have been selected to join its prestigious New Generation Artists scheme from 2019-2021. The musicians joining the scheme are: pianists Eric Lu and Alexander Gadjiev, violist Timothy Ridout, mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska, violinist Johan Dalene, the Consone Quartet, and jazz guitarist Rob Luft.

Making waves: the radio DJs changing the way men talk about mental health

By blending banter with heartfelt discussion, rising radio stars John Robins and Elis James have created a forum that allows men to open up about masculinity and mental health – with jokes attached. In the two days between the announcement that their weekly Radio X show would be ending and the final broadcast, comedians John Robins and Elis James received 110 pages of emails from their listeners. One of the emails they read out in that final show in April, from a fan called Frank, said the show had been his...

Broadcasters unite once again for Mental Health Minute

Commercial Radio and the BBC are once again uniting to broadcast a one-minute message in support of mental health awareness. For the second year Mental Health Minute will feature globally famous voices and unite stations all over the UK, from national networks such as those run by Global, Bauer and Wireless, to smaller local stations and community stations, together with BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, and 5 Live.

Frequency swap for Panjab Radio and Love Sport approved

Ofcom has approved a Format change for Panjab Radio and Love Sport to swap frequencies in London, after a consultation. The move will give Panjab Radio more coverage across Greater London on 558AM, whilst reducing Love Sport’s output to the North of the capital via 1584AM. Surjit Singh Ghuman MBE, Managing Director Panjab Radio told RadioToday:...

JACK Radio to start live daytime spiritual show

JACK Radio has hired Spiritual Counsellor Margaret Bowman and Clairvoyant-Medium Ruth Phillips to front a new show each lunchtime called Universally Speaking. The live programme will air each weekday from 11am till 1pm, and focus on the mind, body and spirit, offering listeners the opportunity to learn about elements including meditation, mindfulness and tapping into their own intuition.

Frank Skinner joins Radio Festival 2019 line-up

Absolute Radio’s Saturday morning presenter Frank Skinner will appear at the Radio Festival this year in conversation with fellow comedian and presenter Matt Forde. Frank will talk about his decade on-air, why he’s most like his real self when he’s behind the microphone and why his is the only radio show to feature an AE Housman alarm. Also just confirmed, BBC Radio 5 Live’s Drive show presenters Anna Foster and Tony Livesey will be the hosts of this year’s event, which takes place at the British Library on 13th May.