BBC Radio 2 has avoided a dramatic audience jolt following Scott Mills’ departure, with the latest RAJAR figures showing only a modest decline for the station and its breakfast programme.
Radio 2 reached 12.37 million listeners each week during the latest reporting period, down 2% year-on-year but still comfortably enough to retain its position as the UK’s biggest individual radio station.
Gary Davies’ breakfast show attracted 6.37 million weekly listeners, falling by just 1% compared with the previous quarter. That is a relatively steady result following Scott’s departure and three months in which the programme was presented by a succession of guest hosts.
RAJAR figures cover a rolling period and should not be treated as an instant verdict on individual schedule changes. Nevertheless, the latest results suggest Radio 2 listeners have not deserted the station in large numbers during the transition, ahead of Sara Cox joining in September.
Vernon Kay now has Radio 2’s biggest show
Vernon Kay recorded the strongest figures on the Radio 2 schedule, reaching 6.8 million listeners each week.
It is his highest audience since 2024 and puts his mid-morning programme ahead of breakfast, currently making it the station’s most-listened-to show.
The figures reinforce the broader picture of stability at Radio 2. Its overall audience has declined slightly, but there is little sign of the sort of immediate collapse that can sometimes follow a prominent presenter’s departure or a major schedule change.
Radio 1 declines, but new stations soften the fall
BBC Radio 1 experienced a steeper year-on-year decline. Its main station reached 6.9 million weekly listeners, down 8% compared with the same period last year.
However, the BBC’s new Radio 1 extensions helped broaden the brand’s overall reach. Radio 1 Dance attracted 615,000 listeners and Radio 1 Anthems reached 584,000, taking the combined Radio 1 brand audience to 7.55 million.
Greg James’ Radio 1 Breakfast remained comparatively stable, reaching 3.76 million listeners. That was down 2% year-on-year but still around one million ahead of Capital Breakfast, which recorded an audience of 2.75 million.
Capital’s main station also suffered a sizeable decline. Its weekly audience fell by 7% to 6.51 million, leaving it around 400,000 listeners behind Radio 1.
Across its full portfolio of spin-off services, however, the Capital brand reached 8.9 million listeners. That put it approximately 1.35 million ahead of the expanded Radio 1 brand.
KISS delivers standout growth
KISS was the strongest performer among the major youth-focused stations, rebounding to 1.75 million weekly listeners. Its audience increased by 32% year-on-year.
KISS Breakfast, now presented by Tyler West and Chloe Burrows, grew by 40% to reach 668,000 listeners.
Despite the main station’s recovery, Kisstory remains the larger service. The spin-off station reached 2.03 million listeners, up 3% year-on-year.
The wider Hits Radio Network reached 6.54 million listeners, a fall of 6%. Its decade stations performed much more strongly, with Hits Radio 90s growing by 48% to 428,000 and Hits Radio 00s rising by 50% to 377,000.
Digital stations continue to expand BBC reach
BBC Radio 6 Music remained the UK’s biggest digital-only station with 2.59 million weekly listeners, unchanged year-on-year.
Its breakfast show with Nick Grimshaw reached 1.29 million, an increase of 3%.
BBC 1Xtra and the BBC Asian Network also recorded growth. 1Xtra increased its audience by 6% to 769,000, while the Asian Network grew by th
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