Ash101

Glad they’re still going to be covering Early Breakfast!

@Lily Georgia tends to know these changes in advance of them being put up on the schedule. Same thing happened the first time it was Dean and Katie in for Scott and Chris, this user posted that here before it went onto schedules

At least we'll have a full week of early breakfast shows with Arielle Free taking a break!!

I’m pretty sure all the shows on the Absolute decade stations are voice tracked..
Apart from Breakfast/Drive which are simulcast of course. 

Always fascinating to take a look at the charts included with the BBC Sounds data.
Released at midnight was the Q4 2022 data which you can see here.
Radio 1's Murder Mystery seems to have done good business at attracting Under 35's with that and the 'Afterlife' podcast taking places in the top 4. Greg James is the most listened to Radio 1 show on demand via BBC Sounds, with Vick and Jordan also in the top 10.
 
BUT... the one that really caught my attention is the Scott Mills Daily Podcast still being in 4th place on the 'Top Podcasts % U35 Skew' - which is significant as this period is October to December, meaning there were zero new episodes but clearly lots of people still catching up....

No Greg is off for 2 weeks,then he’s back for the final week of Scott & Chris then he’s just got a few days after the following Monday (which is a bank holiday) he’s back mid week

Yeah, if anything the regular cover of Breakfast and afternoons/drive if both are away would probably be a bit of a sweetener for Matt & Mollie remaining on weekends. 

Glad I wasn’t the only one who was confused by Aled’s quote about lockdown. Maybe a mistake?
I don’t think this is such bad news for Radio 1 - or Greg on Breakfast - because all youth stations are down. If you look at Matt Deegan’s blog, he states it’s higher % of older listeners who are going. There is just not enough younger people coming in to replace them. This is kinda good news for the Radio 1 team as it means the content is on target. There’s just a wider issue that the target audience doesn’t listen to radio overall as much. 

Adam Bowie’s blog states the % for which each show is down. We don’t know the numbers, so it’s hard to gauge too much. But it’s the first time we’ve had a breakdown of any sort:
Greg is down 7.9%
RM&C 12.4%
Scott & Chris 4.5%
Vick & Jordan 7.5%
 
The BBC Sounds data out today also shows Under 35’s listening and RM&C are the only daytime show not to make the Top 10, plus losing the highest %. Does not look great for them.

Why do you always refer to her as Annie Macmanus? ?

As we head into 2022, just my few thoughts on the new line up. In short: it's fantastic. I don't think there have ever been more shows on Radio 1 that I actively want to listen/catch-up with.
Vick & Jordan are really growing into the drive slot. Sadly it just shows how poor Grimmy's show was when you compare just how much speech/content/fun they manage to squeeze into the show. There's plenty of different weekly features, they've got the daily staple in the 'Something Songs' & the 'talkers' always feel quite natural and generate some good stories. Basically they move the show on every 15/30 minutes & the hard work of the production team really does shine through. It's a shame it doesn't have a Scott Mills Daily style podcast to make catching up easier.
I'm growing to like the pairing even more - sometimes I do feel Vick's humour doesn't quite work with Jordan. She kind of stunts his jokes and the way he plays up the whole Northern thing (but I guess I am comparing this to Jordan's podcast with William Hanson who just knows when to sit back and let Jordan be the fool). Katie is great cover too, she works with both Vick & Jordan so should keep the show sounding consistent all year round.
RMC: I like them. I really enjoyed the evening show they did, because it was a little bit naughty & had plenty of games, even if the music wasn't always to my taste. Personally, it does feel like they've not translated this very well across to the new slot. I loved night night nonsense (a different game every Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday where Rickie/Melvin/Charlie each host one night and the other 2 play), if they did something similar (midday madness? ?) it would really lift the whole show in my opinion. The daily features they have started aren't that strong: Random annoys me, Skive lounge is fun but maybe not as often & Melvin's Live Lounge guessing game just sticks out (why are they only doing it 1 day a week when they do LL rewinds every morning?).
It just feels like they have been pinched a bit too much on talk time & when there is 3 of them on the show it feels a bit of a waste of talent. Of course it shouldn't be as fast paced/packed as Breakfast or Drive, but I think Scott & Chris show that the 'content filled' shows do work outside of peak. My biggest wish for 2022 is that they can inject a bit more fun into this show. Shout outs are fine till 11, then the Live Lounge, but some different good features every half hour after that would be great.
Greg James and Scott & Chris deliver the 2 most consistently great shows on radio anywhere in the UK, in my opinion. Obviously not too much to say here because they weren't new for September 2022, but they have certainly kept up their game alongside the new additions to the line up. I hope neither change for a good while to come. Reinstating Greg on a Friday was probably one of the best decisions of the year. My one niggle with Breakfast is that I wish they made more of the 9:30 till 10:30 slot. I miss the daily madness of the 6:30 till 7am bit.
Evenings - I don't listen to them as regularly (I used to catchup with RMC) but whenever I have heard Clara, Jack & Sian, it really does feel like they are in the perfect places on the schedule. They each love the slot they do & it shows. Just a shame we have lost an entertainment based evening show. Even if it was 10-12, so it could be naughty again with Powerdown at 12am.
Weekends - Adele is a pro and very much suits the weekend Breakfast slot. It doesn't need to be as fast paced as weekdays & I think the past few years of having the 2 different duos on then just shows what a waste it can be, especially on a quiet morning like Sunday. I'm still not 100% sold on Dean, he is good but I did prefer Jordan in that slot. As has been mentioned here before, I wonder if it's too much too soon. Should he be on Early Breakfast with Arielle at the weekends? My personal choice would've been RMC on a Friday, Dean on a Sunday & someone new on a Saturday - gives a slot to another ex-Xmas/Friday EB presenter too. (I'd pick Sam & Danni. Saturday, so they are still free to cover life hacks on a Sunday).
Matt & Mollie are sounding the best they ever have. The move back to weekends really did 'reset' their show and the stuff they do is on a par with the duos on Monday to Thursday. Some really great games and the 'talkers' they do are also generating some of the funniest stories too. Again, it's a shame they don't have a podcast. They could probably get away with a pretty beefy weekly one?

As we head into 2022, just my few thoughts on the new line up. In short: it's fantastic. I don't think there have ever been more shows on Radio 1 that I actively want to listen/catch-up with.
Vick & Jordan are really growing into the drive slot. Sadly it just shows how poor Grimmy's show was when you compare just how much speech/content/fun they manage to squeeze into the show. There's plenty of different weekly features, they've got the daily staple in the 'Something Songs' & the 'talkers' always feel quite natural and generate some good stories. Basically they move the show on every 15/30 minutes & the hard work of the production team really does shine through. It's a shame it doesn't have a Scott Mills Daily style podcast to make catching up easier.
I'm growing to like the pairing even more - sometimes I do feel Vick's humour doesn't quite work with Jordan. She kind of stunts his jokes and the way he plays up the whole Northern thing (but I guess I am comparing this to Jordan's podcast with William Hanson who just knows when to sit back and let Jordan be the fool). Katie is great cover too, she works with both Vick & Jordan so should keep the show sounding consistent all year round.
RMC: I like them. I really enjoyed the evening show they did, because it was a little bit naughty & had plenty of games, even if the music wasn't always to my taste. Personally, it does feel like they've not translated this very well across to the new slot. I loved night night nonsense (a different game every Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday where Rickie/Melvin/Charlie each host one night and the other 2 play), if they did something similar (midday madness? ?) it would really lift the whole show in my opinion. The daily features they have started aren't that strong: Random annoys me, Skive lounge is fun but maybe not as often & Melvin's Live Lounge guessing game just sticks out (why are they only doing it 1 day a week when they do LL rewinds every morning?).
It just feels like they have been pinched a bit too much on talk time & when there is 3 of them on the show it feels a bit of a waste of talent. Of course it shouldn't be as fast paced/packed as Breakfast or Drive, but I think Scott & Chris show that the 'content filled' shows do work outside of peak. My biggest wish for 2022 is that they can inject a bit more fun into this show. Shout outs are fine till 11, then the Live Lounge, but some different good features every half hour after that would be great.
Greg James and Scott & Chris deliver the 2 most consistently great shows on radio anywhere in the UK, in my opinion. Obviously not too much to say here because they weren't new for September 2022, but they have certainly kept up their game alongside the new additions to the line up. I hope neither change for a good while to come. Reinstating Greg on a Friday was probably one of the best decisions of the year. My one niggle with Breakfast is that I wish they made more of the 9:30 till 10:30 slot. I miss the daily madness of the 6:30 till 7am bit.
Evenings - I don't listen to them as regularly (I used to catchup with RMC) but whenever I have heard Clara, Jack & Sian, it really does feel like they are in the perfect places on the schedule. They each love the slot they do & it shows. Just a shame we have lost an entertainment based evening show. Even if it was 10-12, so it could be naughty again with Powerdown at 12am.
Weekends - Adele is a pro and very much suits the weekend Breakfast slot. It doesn't need to be as fast paced as weekdays & I think the past few years of having the 2 different duos on then just shows what a waste it can be, especially on a quiet morning like Sunday. I'm still not 100% sold on Dean, he is good but I did prefer Jordan in that slot. As has been mentioned here before, I wonder if it's too much too soon. Should he be on Early Breakfast with Arielle at the weekends? My personal choice would've been RMC on a Friday, Dean on a Sunday & someone new on a Saturday - gives a slot to another ex-Xmas/Friday EB presenter too. (I'd pick Sam & Danni. Saturday, so they are still free to cover life hacks on a Sunday).
Matt & Mollie are sounding the best they ever have. The move back to weekends really did 'reset' their show and the stuff they do is on a par with the duos on Monday to Thursday. Some really great games and the 'talkers' they do are also generating some of the funniest stories too. Again, it's a shame they don't have a podcast. They could probably get away with a pretty beefy weekly one?

As we head into 2022, just my few thoughts on the new line up. In short: it's fantastic. I don't think there have ever been more shows on Radio 1 that I actively want to listen/catch-up with.
Vick & Jordan are really growing into the drive slot. Sadly it just shows how poor Grimmy's show was when you compare just how much speech/content/fun they manage to squeeze into the show. There's plenty of different weekly features, they've got the daily staple in the 'Something Songs' & the 'talkers' always feel quite natural and generate some good stories. Basically they move the show on every 15/30 minutes & the hard work of the production team really does shine through. It's a shame it doesn't have a Scott Mills Daily style podcast to make catching up easier.
I'm growing to like the pairing even more - sometimes I do feel Vick's humour doesn't quite work with Jordan. She kind of stunts his jokes and the way he plays up the whole Northern thing (but I guess I am comparing this to Jordan's podcast with William Hanson who just knows when to sit back and let Jordan be the fool). Katie is great cover too, she works with both Vick & Jordan so should keep the show sounding consistent all year round.
RMC: I like them. I really enjoyed the evening show they did, because it was a little bit naughty & had plenty of games, even if the music wasn't always to my taste. Personally, it does feel like they've not translated this very well across to the new slot. I loved night night nonsense (a different game every Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday where Rickie/Melvin/Charlie each host one night and the other 2 play), if they did something similar (midday madness? ?) it would really lift the whole show in my opinion. The daily features they have started aren't that strong: Random annoys me, Skive lounge is fun but maybe not as often & Melvin's Live Lounge guessing game just sticks out (why are they only doing it 1 day a week when they do LL rewinds every morning?).
It just feels like they have been pinched a bit too much on talk time & when there is 3 of them on the show it feels a bit of a waste of talent. Of course it shouldn't be as fast paced/packed as Breakfast or Drive, but I think Scott & Chris show that the 'content filled' shows do work outside of peak. My biggest wish for 2022 is that they can inject a bit more fun into this show. Shout outs are fine till 11, then the Live Lounge, but some different good features every half hour after that would be great.
Greg James and Scott & Chris deliver the 2 most consistently great shows on radio anywhere in the UK, in my opinion. Obviously not too much to say here because they weren't new for September 2022, but they have certainly kept up their game alongside the new additions to the line up. I hope neither change for a good while to come. Reinstating Greg on a Friday was probably one of the best decisions of the year. My one niggle with Breakfast is that I wish they made more of the 9:30 till 10:30 slot. I miss the daily madness of the 6:30 till 7am bit.
Evenings - I don't listen to them as regularly (I used to catchup with RMC) but whenever I have heard Clara, Jack & Sian, it really does feel like they are in the perfect places on the schedule. They each love the slot they do & it shows. Just a shame we have lost an entertainment based evening show. Even if it was 10-12, so it could be naughty again with Powerdown at 12am.
Weekends - Adele is a pro and very much suits the weekend Breakfast slot. It doesn't need to be as fast paced as weekdays & I think the past few years of having the 2 different duos on then just shows what a waste it can be, especially on a quiet morning like Sunday. I'm still not 100% sold on Dean, he is good but I did prefer Jordan in that slot. As has been mentioned here before, I wonder if it's too much too soon. Should he be on Early Breakfast with Arielle at the weekends? My personal choice would've been RMC on a Friday, Dean on a Sunday & someone new on a Saturday - gives a slot to another ex-Xmas/Friday EB presenter too. (I'd pick Sam & Danni. Saturday, so they are still free to cover life hacks on a Sunday).
Matt & Mollie are sounding the best they ever have. The move back to weekends really did 'reset' their show and the stuff they do is on a par with the duos on Monday to Thursday. Some really great games and the 'talkers' they do are also generating some of the funniest stories too. Again, it's a shame they don't have a podcast. They could probably get away with a pretty beefy weekly one?

Yes, I think it would’ve been mentioned if they weren’t going to be London based (like Dean).
I do believe the requirement to have a daytime show outside of London isn’t for a few more years anyway…

Simply... Just no. In the 90s, the station was stuck in the past, with presenters who appealed to an ageing audience. It has widely been debated whether that radical shake-up was done well, or could have been just as successful if done in a much less abrasive way, and certainly some of the execution at the time was clumsy with some presenters brought in who lasted only a short while (since they simply didn't work at all). But this is entirely missing the point... There is NO need for a radical shake-up right now. The presenters and shows are not 'past their prime', apart from perhaps Grimmy who will most likely move on in the next year. The absolute WORST thing Aled could do right now is a radical shake-up. Listeners would desert in their droves, the reputation of the station would sink and all the hard work done in recent years would be thrown away. We're never going to agree on this, but for someone who claims to have the best interests of the youth market in mind, you seem out of touch with the reality of youth-focused broadcasting. Please don't try to use BBC3 as an analogy - indeed the BBC leadership have handled that badly, but it has nothing to do with the quality job that the team are doing at R1.
As for the 'sound' of the station - it doesn't need to sound specifically like 'young Britain' in order to appeal to it, as long as the voices are diverse and inclusive, which they clearly are. There's simply no evidence of unconscious bias in recent signings at the station, and fortunately it has avoided the horrors of any 'box ticking' appointments. Simply put, many of the UK's top broadcasting talent  work there, and the fact that some major stars clearly choose to continue to present at R1 despite offers of significantly higher wages at commercial rivals says all you need to know about the credibility and reputation it has.
The evolution of R1 at present is something the BBC are, and should be, immensely proud of. Aled is doing a fantastic job, and nothing needs to change.
 
So now to get back on topic.... my answer is still Matt & Mollie!! Though hopefully Greg will be around for a good while yet

At the risk of disappearing down this same rabbit hole as last time... There is - quite simply - no 'problem' to fix, and even more than that, improvements are being made all the time. The station has recently won a bunch of awards, there is more new talent than that has been for years, the presenter roster is diverse and inclusive.... Of course yes you could put MORE new talent on, or MORE diversity (e.g. Asian voices), but that's missing the point. The goal of equality should be to ensure everyone gets a fair go, and is not discriminated against. Clearly that has been happening at the station for a good while, and there is no need to 'force-fit' any further such changes - we can just let that happen naturally now as talent evolves and grows.
It's also critical to keep a good focus on listener numbers, just as they are doing. It's idealistic to say that that doesn't matter and the station should push the boundaries further in daytime - quite simply without the strong figures, the station would be doomed. If anyone thinks the station sounds similar to commercial rivals in daytime, they really need to reconsider that view!!!
R1 Dance / Relax are low-cost add-ons that will attract a few more people to the station, and they do offer a commercial-free option that is pretty unique. All in all Aled is doing a fantastic job, the station has rarely sounded better and has never had such a forward-looking presenter strategy!

You’re living in a dream world though. Radio 1 has never worked like this & never will. It’s a professional national station and they use a small pool of known faces to cover shows (usually weekend presenters covering weekdays).
Your point is a bit redundant as they are allowing more presenters than ever on the station. See the Xmas takeovers & Friday early breakfast. Dean covering for Matt is great example of how they’re thinking forward now....

Agree with this. But we’ve had Moyles, Grimmy & Greg. That’s 20+ years of solo males (by the time I expect Greg will finish). I would be shocked if we didn’t see a female presenter, even if co-hosting alongside a another, on breakfast.

Nice ideas. I really like the idea of Greg, Vick, Scott, Jordan & Clara all on in that order. Clara is definitely best suited as an Annie Mac replacement in the future, 100% agree.
Although I would rather have Greg on a Friday, I don’t like the 4 day thing creeping back via your idea. Vick on a Friday too with the weekend starting at 1pm via Matt & Mollie seems a nice compromise 

Shortly after they announced they were leaving Kiss, their big boss there also announced his departure. I don’t think it was a coincidence they took the R1 show once they knew he was off. After all, new bosses like to put a stamp on things & they’d been doing the show for 12 years.
As mentioned above, they would be fine content wise on a daytime show because they did breakfast for so long. But I get the impression (especially when it was 9-11) they enjoy the more risqué side of the show.
The only slot I could see them moving into is 1-4, either weekends or weekends. (Jordan is the obvious choice for Drive & I can’t see Greg or Clara leaving before Scott or Grimmy). But they’re all around 40, so what’s the future for them on R1? Probably no longer than a future would’ve been at Kiss. But I honestly don’t think the UK has a radio station where they’d be on air in 10 years as a trio?

Biggest problem here is that the BBC is the state broadcaster for the UK. They didn’t air anything except news on TV last night, BBC One & Two showed the same. Four was suspended.
They have a duty to announce the news in a respectful way, hence the simulcast. Maybe Radio 1 should’ve gone back to music earlier, but even if they did it would’ve only been instrumentals for longer.
This has nothing to do with R1 management and would’ve been decisions made by the highest & the Beeb. From what I’ve read elsewhere today, these are plans that are in place way ahead of time. Stuff isn’t decided last minute.
I get all the “should’ve done this to connect with the audience” stuff, but as state broadcaster the BBC has to be very careful. Commercial radio did offer an alternative yesterday, even sans adverts, so people had options.

They’re not! I think it’s changed to better pool resources over the outbreak. 

Chris is very much Scott’s “sidekick”. The others are all “co-presenters”.

Chris is very much Scott’s “sidekick”. The others are all “co-presenters”.

I would say probably correct, that Scott Mills was definately offered the gig and turned it down - bit of a kick to Jamie Theaktson to know he was second fiddle after being in the slot for some years
Wonder what made Scott turn it down - was it the fact he would have been working with Amanda Holden lol
As for Greg - I would say he will go for Moyles' record and try to do 9/10 years being the radio nerd he is, but it depends how long you can hack early mornings although he has Chris Evans' wish of being 4 days only
 
I can see Scott on afternoons for some time yet too as him Adele and Clara are the only constant on daytime currently after recent changes to both weekday and weekend schedules but maybe start to cover shows on Radio 2 like SWITA and Ken Bruce? Also of note Sara Cox has had no real "leave" since being on drive, wonder if there is potential for Scott to cover this slot?
It will be interesting to see what happens to the three from Kiss - maybe they have potential to replace Grimmy on drive one day ? and give Dev and Alice the night show weekdays where they can be smutty and allow Jordan to have weekend afternoons and be the cover for weekday shows as well - Dev definately deserves a slot on daytime even if it is the 9pm one nightly