NathanS

Radio 1 (well radio in general) was a massive help for me during 2020, especially during the first lockdown. I think all of the DJ's (both daytime and specialist) were on top of their game and had the tone 100% spot on. Scott and Chris, even with the latter at home still bounced off each other well, and it was good to hear them back on breakfast cover (twice) and drivetime. Radio 1 (along with other stations) apparently had a strong boost in listeners, and overall listening hours during lockdown 1. (i don't have a source, read it on an article somewhere). Hopefully they've retained those listeners and added more on top. In terms of changes, some i agreed with.. some i didn't (mostly because i'm not a fan of change). Lockdown schedule was okay. The rotating of shows was a bit jarring (on the downside, we only heard Jordan, Dev & Alice every 3 weeks at the weekend) The new schedule from September, i can see the points Aled made for bringing it in, but for me the varying show lengths, and new start times, i preferred the old schedule. I don't understand the breakfast show and mid morning show time change. I also preferred 'daytime' finishing at 7 (probably because that's what i'm used to, plus it's lead to half hour being chopped off Scott's show). Personally, i think there could've been other ways of highlighting new artists/music and bridging the gap between specialist and daytime, instead of moving Future Sounds back an hour.(i'd imagine there was a budget element too, with live shows finishing an hour early at midnight, and an hour later at 5am). However, that's just my opinion. I'm sure they know what they're doing behind the scenes.

I was going to post this during Christmas week, but didn't get the time. Im going to combine several things into this thread, so the title might be a bit vague. Here goes. 2020 was a very tough year for us all, in all aspects (so i hope you are all well, i've found finally joining this forum a great escape being able to actually discuss a subject i like with other people). It also saw some huge changes at Radio 1 with plenty of changes made so a few question which i'll bulletpoint below. -Do you agree with any/some/all of the changes Aled has made last year? -Does anyone think any of the decisions were influenced or as a result of the pandemic? (i.e budget, or presenters reconsidering their options). -Overall what are your thoughts on where Radio 1 are now compared to say 2019, or pre April 2020? Are they in a strong position now compared to then? Also, any predictions for 2021 will be welcome. I'll post my thoughts in a seperate post underneath, would be interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

Would like to hear everyones views of this years guest presenters. For me, of the daytime presenters (from what i heard), James Cusack was the stand out for me, i thought he fitted right in with R1's format, and would like to hear him cover again as i think he would fit in well (they could do with a cover presenter who could cover across a variety of shows like Jordan did before he gained a show of his own). Rakeem Omar and Sam Macgregor (who co hosted life hacks) were also ones to watch for me. Quite a few of them were impressive tbh. Of the nighttime specialists i heard small bits of, Dan Alani was good sitting in for Annie, as was Sarah Storey on NYD (although i had heard her on Capital already so already knew what to expect). Dan would be a good one (providing he's free to do so) to step in when Jack Saunders is away. Overall i was impressed, hopefully it leads to some opportunities for some of them, either as cover, a shot at the Friday early breakfast rotation or opportunities elsewhere in the radio industry.

I agree, i miss Mistajam on Dance Anthems, on the other hand i get the best of both worlds, as i turn over to Capital at 7pm on a Saturday night after DA's has finished on Radio 1. Charlie is pretty much a spot on choice as replacement for him (equally Arielle would've been a good replacement) in my opinion.

Although i agree it sound a bit jarring at 3pm on a Friday, and that it suited the 6-7pm slot perfectly as a warm up/compliment to Friday nights on Radio 1, i'm glad they kept it. PA's is different to the morning 'Anthems' hour. It showcases the more commercial sounding brand new dance music/up and coming DJ's that wouldn't otherwise get mainstream exposure. Obviously quite a few other factors help, but quite a few tracks/DJ's that have had early on support have gone onto success both in the clubs and on the chart. Shane Codd is a current example. I suppose the last hour of Dance Anthems plays some of what goes out between 3 and 4pm on a Friday, plus the launch of Capital Dance (plus they now play more than just remixes of the main playlist on Capital on Fri/Sat nights). Annie Mac and co focus on the more cutting edge end of things. The other anthems shows i'm not much of a fan of anymore. It was much better when they launched it as Greatest Hits in 2017. Personally, i prefer hearing songs in full as opposed to being shortened and mixed into other songs. They are frequently repeated as well with how often they have anthems features (Friday 08:30-09:00, Going Home Anthems on a Thursday).

Tbf, despite the stick he gets from the general public, i do think he's good at what he does. He's a good DJ. However, he worked his way up from weekend breakfast/Sunday nights, through to evenings, then the second longest breakfast show. There's nowhere else to go now, apart from back to weekends. When the move to drive came, i did enjoy the show and it did start off with some good new features, but personally for me it's now suffering from the same fate his breakfast show did towards the end. Apart from when they have a guest on here and there, the show only has a handful of features which have become a bit stale. Especially with Jordan's rising profile, i think it's now perfect time for a change. Even if it is a direct swap in the interim.

I personally think Clara suits the Live Lounge show well. It has been a single headed, music heavy show since Jo Whiley took over in 2001. It sits nicely in the middle of the workday, inbetween two entertainment led shows. Same goes for Annie Mac. When she took over from Zane Lowe, i did associate her as a dance specialist but i think she fitted in nicely, and based off Aled's commitment to moving her show to a more primetime audience, i think she's going to be there (and rightly so) for a few more years. The strongest weekday schedule imo is the same as now except: 04:00/05:00-07:00 Adele Roberts staying put. I don't get to listen all that often, but i think she's fully in tune with her "Early Morning Crew". And of course Jordan on drive, which i can see being brought forward soon.

Fully agree with all of the above posts. I miss the banter between Greg & Chris Smith, What's My Age Again and the mayor of where? especially. I think he's great and it was a spot on decision by Ben Cooper and Aled to swap him and Grimmy. Maybe it's just i miss that old dynamic on the drive show, and Radio 1 in general at the time. A lot has changed (both for the best and not so great) since, and it's understandable things would change a bit upon landing the breakfast show. Regardless, it's great he now has 5 days and long may his time on breakfast continue. Should Jordan be offered drivetime, that would make a very strong line-up with Scott & Chris plus Annie Mac and Jack Saunders in the evenings Go back further, and i enjoyed the pre chart show era, with Feet Up Friday. Maybe wishful thinking but would love if they revived the idea somewhat, maybe in the last hour of the show

Money talks. Uncertainty around the BBC in general, plus now they now have to publicly publish the salaries of staff on their books who earn over 100k a year, the big commercial groups now know exactly how much they need to pay to poach talent from the BBC, highlighted by Chris Evans, plus the recent move of Graham Norton both to Virgin. I get the impression the only people i think (reading between lines and personal opinion) chose to leave and were poached were Mistajam and Dotty (A.Dot). With the former, launching a brand new station dedicated to new dance music, along with,(more than likely) a pay rise was probably too big an opportunity to miss. Although on a slight tangent, although i miss his Radio 1 show, i get the best of both worlds listening to Charlie Hedges, then Mistajam on Capital so win win.

Good to hear Dev has found a new Radio home. I don't really listen to Heart (narrow playlist and short formatted links) but some DJ's are good at putting some personality across into tight, short links. Will Manning and Rob Howard over on Capital seem to be good at it, as is Mistajam, of course...and i think Dev will be too. At a time on air radio roles are vanishing more and more due to the big commercial groups buying up smaller stations and networking their main brands, plus BBC Local Radio making cuts to their budgets, a job is a job so it might be a step down from his Radio 1 shows, but it's still a national radio gig on the biggest commercial network. Hopefully in time he can land some more shows/more prominent slot. There is often a lot of weekday cover up for grabs on Heart so wouldn't surprise me if he quickly moved into the go to cover role soon enough. I wouldn't mind hearing him have a go covering the Big Top40 (then he'll be heard on Capital aswell!). He, of course has experience doing the Official Chart on R1. At least with these changes, everyone leaving already has or have secured a show/s elsewhere.

Looking at the Christmas presenters announced for this year. Three of them were also on last year. Cal Carthy (covered Future Sounds last year, doing Dance Anthems this year), Connor Coates, and DJ Davda (who i noticed has covered the Soundsystem show a couple of times this year). One of the DJ's selected, Sarah Story was on the main Capital stations on Friday and Saturday nights recently, until they took on Mistajam/launched Capital Dance and had a reshuffle. Another name i recognise is Rakeem Omar. He broadcasts on BBC Radio WM so has a bit of broadcasting experience on BBC Radio.

Although some of them may still get chance to cover/be selected to host Fridays, there are a couple of last years intake of new presenters who i was impressed with. Gregor Davidson, who actually covered weekend early breakfast at least once or twice in the first part of the year. It would've been interesting to see if he, or any of the others would've been offered any cover work had it not been for the pandemic? It'll be a shame if the ship has sailed to get him on board.

Katie just appeared to confirm she's working Christmas Day, so looks like the info posted by the Official Charts Company is correct. Does seem a little odd that Scott won't be announcing the Christmas No 1, it's the first time it's fallen on 25th December since he took over as permanent host. Although, it's great he's doing Breakfast again.

The chart will almost certainly be live. It's the most important chart of the year (in the sense it's the one that still gets the general public interested in it), and will have live interaction with the listeners (texts, calls and tweets). There is usually two live shows on Christmas day (Breakfast and 'Drive' usually, or the chart when it falls on 25th December).

Arielle is on NYE 6pm till 10pm, then Jordan on 10pm till 1am.

Great to hear Scott doing the Christmas day breakfast show, although seems quite odd he's double shifting, almost certain both will be live (the breakfast show always is, and the chart err... will be live). I'm actually really surprised we don't have Jordan on Christmas Breakfast this year, i was fully expecting it to happen. 2-4pm is also an odd time for the chart to air. The last time it fell on Xmas day, they did it at 10am, which could've made sense again (plus could've been a continuation on from the Breakfast Show, or would've made sense to air at the usual time of 4pm.

Ahh. Fair enough. Assuming it's still going ahead, surely we'll hear about this years set of new presenters between Boxing Day and New Years Eve soon... Looking at the Christmas Eve into Christmas day schedule, looks like they've edged the early breakfast show out of the schedule. There's a Christmas Mixtape type hour showing for the 5am hour.

I got 3 of the daytime slots right lol. I personally thought Adele would do pre Xmas week earlies before moving to weekends, but makes sense that Katie is doing them. Greg & Grimmy usually take two weeks off at Christmas, so Jordan being on drive was a given. Interesting that they're altering the show times to 3 hours each. Is Drivetime finishing at 7 during that week?

https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/11/bbc-to-create-temporary-local-radio-services/ Part of Radio 1's Christmas day schedule has been revealed. Quote from the article: "For the British Forces Broadcasting Service Christmas Takeover Radio 1 is going to hand over four hours of Christmas Day to four bases around the world to give their troops the opportunity to send Christmas messages to their families back at home in the UK" This sounds good. Will make a change to the usual artist/celebrity takeovers they've done for the past number of years.

I think it's a given with the next year that Jordan will become drivetime host. Come January, He will likely be the main go to cover for Scott as well as Grimmy now Dev is leaving, so personally, i can't see him being the go to breakfast cover. Overall i think Radio 1 are in a good place, going into 2021 and beyond. Although, the only person who stands out to me as ready to shift to weekdays from weekends is Jordan.

Part 2 There was a guy from last years festive guest DJ's who covered a couple of weekend early shows just before the lockdown; and was down to do some weekend daytime cover i think, Gregor Davidson. In my opinion, he sounded promising and would be a shame if the opportunity to snap him up for the monthly Friday rotation, or even as a 'supply teacher' like role (like Jordan did for a few years before he got a permanent gig) had passed. It'll be interesting to see how long they rotate this slot, and if they will either settle on permanent Friday host and offer one of them the slot full time? Finally, i'm actually quite sad Dev is leaving. It feels like he has been there forever and have always been a fan of his shows. He comes across as a likeable person and clearly has a love for radio. It's a real shame he (and possibly Alice if it wasn't her choice to leave) didn't get a shot at a main weekday slot. Their afternoon show was one of the best daytime shows on the station in my opinion. If Ricky, Melvin & Charlie hadn't been poached from Kiss, i dare say Dev would've been in line to take over the evening slot, and would've probably still been on air come 2021. I hope he finds a place on another station. I didn't listen to Phil Taggart & Huw Stephens respective shows much, as the specialist stuff is not my bag but both are good at what they do. Huw has been at R1 nearly as long as Scott if you count the 'Session in the Nations' opt out he did between 99 & 2005. He's been on the main national network for at least 15 years though so a good run, including stints on daytime both as cover and his own weekend afternoon slot for a few years. It's good to hear both will be still broadcasting on other BBC stations. It did feel like Huw would leave before long after he was moved off weekday evenings. He's the main go to cover jock on 6 music now so no doubt he'll find a home there, should a slot become avaliabe. It's a good decision all round to freshen up both those slots with new talent. Both Sian and Gemma already broadcast on BBC stations so have experience. It also begs the question of cover work. Dev was one of the main cover presenters for the afternoon slots, and Phil was Annie Mac's main cover. I'd imagine Jordan will step up as Scott's cover too now (as well as Grimmy), unless Matt & Mollie assume that role. Now she's moved to weekends, no doubt Adele will become a regular stand in for Clara again. Now Greg is 5 days a week, will be interesting to see if Matt & Mollie remain his main cover. Would they do Fridays then someone cover their afternoon show, or do Mon-Thurs with someone else covering Fridays. Alternatively, Scott & Chris could return to the role, although again Fridays could clash with the chart unless Vick & Katy cover that slot on the same day. Adele is only one of a handful of people who doesn't do a weekday show, she's more than capable of the weekday breakfast show on her own i think, if they wanted to avoid taking anyone off their own slots, this would be the most plausible suggestion. Some final points to make: -It's good to see the vast majority of the weekday line up remain. Although i'm not a huge fan of the new show times/lengths (and live daytime programming starting at 5am instead of 4 and ending at 6). It's a strong line up, Arielle, Greg, Clara, Scott, Grimmy & Annie. It would have been a good move to swap Jordan and Grimmy tbh, i think the time was right. Although Jordan has just got the Fri & Sat shows recently so that may have played a factor. I can certainly see a scenario by September where they swap slots. -No news on what happens to Best New Pop, the Anthems slot and Party Anthems. Although, Something tells me they'll stay exactly as they are with Mollie continuing to pre record Best New Pop, Greg's last half hour will probaly take in Anthems (not the first time as it happened in the summer), and M&M will probably take over Party Anthems on a Friday. Personally, i'd incorporate Best New Pop into an existing show such as the Friday Early brekkie, Greg's show or Saturday Breakfast with Adele. I'd ditch Anthems on a Friday tbh. There seems to be a lot of these kind of pre mixed slots across the schedule and having it on Saturday and Sunday would be sufficent imo. I personally would prefer Scott doing PA's before the chart but with the quick paced shout outs, and not much room for chat, i think it's fine with whoever hosts it. Although it's still jarring hearing it at 3pm, it suited the 6pm slot much better, although it's better than scrapping it altogether.

Was meant to post this earlier in the week when i started the topic but... better late than never! I'm not really one who likes change so generally it takes me a while to get used to any changes made. I appreciate things need to evolve and overall, they're positive decisions made by Aled. He's certainly making his mark with these and the September changes. I might post this in two parts as it maybe too long winded (sorry for the essay) Firstly, Greg going to 5 days a week. I was never really a fan of the weekend breakfast on Fridays concept so this is probably the best of the changes. Greg himself probably would've jumped at the chance of doing 5 days if offered it when his tenure launched two years ago. A good deal for the listener too now they have a consistent breakfast show in the week. Arielle moving to weekday early breakfast, again a decent move. Looking at some comments on here, i agree it seemed (from my point of view) a bit odd when she was reduced to just 90 minutes on a Friday morning. I half expected her to take over Dance Anthems when Mistajam left, although this makes sense why Charlie took over instead (although i'd have preferred to hear Arielle on that slot tbf, nothing against the former). I don't get to listen to her show often, the bits i listen back to on Sounds and when she covers other shows, i like what i hear. She'll be familiar to that audience anyway being the main Mon-Thurs cover plus those that listen to EB across the week. Adele Roberts has done a good job on early breakfast. She seems to have built up a loyal audience in that slot. A good solid DJ who struck the balance well between skewing towards the upper end of the demographic and older who tend to listen at that time (truckers etc.) while not sounding out of place with the target demo. She has been there 5 years though so it's time for a change. I did have a feeling either her or Dev would move on in the next big changes. Weekend Breakfast is probably the next best place for her to go. About time for a lie in after 5 years of early starts. She'll slot in perfectly in that slot i think (more so than Matt & Mollie whose styles fitted and will fit afternoons better), plus it's likely she'll still be called up for weekday cover on a regular basis, especially now Dev's gone and Jordan has his own shows. Talking of Matt & Mollie, another shuffle around the weekend schedule back to where they were previously. They suited the 1-4 slot better personally (although i do miss Matt's old 10-1 show, although Jordan does a grand job there now), so no complaints about this move. Although i wasn't keen on the pairing at first (similar to Dev & Alice), i think they bounce off each other well. Mollie has improved very much as a presenter in my opinion. I heard her host solo a few weeks back and enjoyed it. Last point before this post gets too long, Friday breakfast becoming a rotating test bed for new presenters. My thoughts are quite mixed on this and you can look at this two ways. It might be jarring for the regular audience rotating that slot with new, virtually unknown names/voices. It's still technically a weekday 'daytime' slot. However, saying that it is exactly what Radio 1 should be doing to fufil their public service remit. Finding and developing new on air talent for the future as well as new music & artists. It'll place them well in the future to have actual DJ's when the time comes to replace the current team and is encouraging to see such an opportunity created at a time they're dwindling in the commercial sector. The first person announced, Joel Mitchell already has experience on BBC Radio, having worked on Radio Leeds. He was also one of the stronger presenters from last years festive intake of guest hosts, so i think he'll do well. It's good to see them tapping into the talent from last year and giving them further opportunities.

Here's my thoughts/predictions for the festive period. 21st-24th (Xmas Eve) 04:00-05:00 Radio 1 Dance 05:00-07:00 Adele Roberts or Arielle Free 07:00-10:30 Matt & Mollie 10:30-13:00 Clara Amfo (Newsbeat 12:45-13:00 21st-23rd) 13:00-15:30 Scott & Chris 15:30-18:00 Jordan North (Newsbeat 17:45-18:00 21st-23rd) 18:00-00:00 (as normal) Christmas Day will probably (in my opinion) be: 04:00-05:00 Radio 1 Dance 05:00-07:00 Early Breakfast with Arielle (Pre-record) 07:00-10:00/10:30 Radio 1 Breakfast with Jordan North (Live) 10:00/10:30-13:00 Official Christmas Chart with Scott Mills (Live~ based off 2015 when the chart last fell on Christmas day, it aired in this time slot and if so, it's possible the top 40 could be broadcast in full if this is the case) 13:00-18:00 Pre-Recorded 'takeovers' (as per previous years 18:00-20:00 Radio 1's Dance Party with Annie Mac (pre-record)* 20:00-22:00 Danny Howard (pre-record)* 22:00-00:00 Pete Tong (pre-record)* *If the normal Friday night shows are on, albeit pre recorded, they'll likely be 'best of Radio 1 Dance/look forward to 2021 themed shows' Alternatively, the pre recorded takeovers may well run from 10:00 or 10:30 until 4pm, with the chart with Scott live from 4pm-6pm. 26th (Boxing Day)- 31st Dec (NYE) From 05:00 Boxing Day through to 13:00 on NYE will be the guest presenters selected to host over the festive period. NYE: 04:00-05:00 Radio 1 Dance/one of the other 'made for BBC Sounds' playlists. 05:00-13:00 (Early Breakfast 5-7, R1 Breakfast 7-10:30, R1 Anthems 10:30-13:00... all will likely be Anthems themed, and hosted by those who were selected (from student/local/commercial radio) to host over the festive period. 13:00-17:00 Radio 1's Dance Anthems with Scott & Chris (Live) 17:00-21:00 Radio 1 Dance Anthems with Charlie Hedges (Live) 21:00-01:00 Radio 1 Dance Anthems with Jordan North (Live) NYD: 04:00-05:00 Radio 1 Dance 05:00-07:00 Riyadh Khalaf as a possibility, he has done a fair bit of early brekkie cover this year 07:00-10:30 Matt & Mollie (or either one of them alone) 10:30-13:00 Jordan North 13:00-16:00 Katie Thistleton (inc. party anthems) 16:00-18:00 Official Chart with Scott Mills 18:00-00:00 as per a normal Friday (albeit pre recorded). 2nd/3rd January normal weekend schedule with 13:00-16:00 (except with Dev gone by this point), likely filled by Katie Thistleton. Then the new schedule kicks in from Monday 4th. On a seperate note, it wouldn't surprise me if Scott did the double again appearing on both Radio 1 and Radio 2 on New Years Eve as per last year.

Hi First post on here. I've been lurking for a while but was always a bit shy to join in and post, so i hope i can make some contributions here and there. I haven't seen a post about this yet (although i can see it being discussed in the chatbox) so i hope it's alright to start a topic? As discussed elsewhere, Dev, Phil Taggart and Huw Stephens are all leaving the station at the end of the year. Dev and Phil's last respective shows are on Sunday 20th December. I'm assuming it's the same for Huw. Greg James' weekday breakfast show will (rightfully in my opinion!) go 5 days a week (Monday to Friday 7-10:30). I imagine the last half hour on Fridays will still continue with Radio 1 anthems. Arielle Free takes over Monday to Thursday early breakfast. Friday's will now showcase new and up and coming presenters. Of the first three announced (Joel Mitchell, Fee Mak and Mollie Finn), two were part of last years Christmas presenters. Adele Roberts moves to Weekend Breakfast (Sat/Sun 7-10:30) with Matt and Mollie moving back to 1-4 Fri-Sun (Which they previously hosted before weekend breakfast). Replacing Phil Taggart and Huw Stephens on Sunday nights are Sian Eleri and Gemma Bradley respectively. Sian covered the Chillest Show over the festive period last year and is already a presenter at BBC Radio Cymru. Bradley joins from BBC Radio Ulster. I'll post some thoughts in a seperate post later. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2020/radio-1-new-presenters-january-2021