Jump to content
Unofficial Mills

Recommended Posts

Posted

How much ‘outside’ work should a daytime presenter realistically be able to take on.

i’m interested in thoughts as there many presenters who’s dream is to be on Radio 1 and that’s their goal and ambition. However there are others that are podcast mad or interested in corporate work and see Radio 1 to support that?

Personally  think daytime presenters should and need to be genuine radio people and the ones that see Radio 1 as extra should get weekend and or bank holiday specials or occasional cover?

appreciate these days presenters probably need to do at least something else to create content and get their  arm out there to non Radio 1 listeners? Over to you 

 

 

Posted
4 hours ago, abertom said:

How much ‘outside’ work should a daytime presenter realistically be able to take on.

i’m interested in thoughts as there many presenters who’s dream is to be on Radio 1 and that’s their goal and ambition. However there are others that are podcast mad or interested in corporate work and see Radio 1 to support that?

Personally  think daytime presenters should and need to be genuine radio people and the ones that see Radio 1 as extra should get weekend and or bank holiday specials or occasional cover?

appreciate these days presenters probably need to do at least something else to create content and get their  arm out there to non Radio 1 listeners? Over to you 

 

 

I think the only qualification a Radio 1 presenter of any level needs is A: can they do a good show and B: are they able to speak to the target audience in a way it finds compelling.  As a radio person I (as are most of you I assume) am biased towards “proper radio people”, but frankly in the modern media climate you’re going to get less and less of them and more and more young talent with a more diverse portfolio of interests.  It’s no different from when the likes of Chris Evans were on Radio 1 but most famous from television, just different platforms; as long as they aren’t crap it shouldn’t be an issue, and we all can think of examples where there have been some quality issues.  But fundamentally Radio 1’s job isn’t to reward purity it’s to get people that make good content wherever they’re from and what they do; they aren’t going to ban presenters from doing other stuff!

Posted
51 minutes ago, GeekTalk51 said:

I think the only qualification a Radio 1 presenter of any level needs is A: can they do a good show and B: are they able to speak to the target audience in a way it finds compelling.  As a radio person I (as are most of you I assume) am biased towards “proper radio people”, but frankly in the modern media climate you’re going to get less and less of them and more and more young talent with a more diverse portfolio of interests.  It’s no different from when the likes of Chris Evans were on Radio 1 but most famous from television, just different platforms; as long as they aren’t crap it shouldn’t be an issue, and we all can think of examples where there have been some quality issues.  But fundamentally Radio 1’s job isn’t to reward purity it’s to get people that make good content wherever they’re from and what they do; they aren’t going to ban presenters from doing other stuff!

Agree 100% with this. I'd much rather hear a good show by someone who does Radio 1 as a 'side hobby' than an average show by a 'proper radio person'. Arguably this is a moot point, as there are very few examples of someone who's not particularly bothered having a main show, and when it happens (dare I mention Maya Jama) then they don't last long.

Sorry if I'm wrong here, but my hunch is that the OP is thinking about Jamie here, as I can't think of any other current examples...

Posted
1 hour ago, abertom said:

Jamie, Vick to an extent and Clara towards the end of her time on Radio 1 I’d say are recent. Further back Maya and Fearne 

Won't debate Jamie as that's been done to death... Vick is an interesting case as it's not so much 'outside interests' with her but rather other work within the BBC. I'd rather hear Vick on R1 than any of the people who cover for her, but it's hard to imagine her being on Going Home longterm with a baby and with her Countryfile job. I do wonder if her heart really remained in Radio after Jordan jumped ship, not that she gives anything less than her all when she's on air, just a hunch. 

Clara has recently opened up about some significant mental health issues towards the end of her time on R1 so not really fair to comment there, and I don't recall Fearne being particularly inconsistent in terms of presence but we do now know about her growing fear of live broadcasting so again if she was off air quite a lot that would explain it.

Maya - no doubt the biggest disaster in recent times in terms of a presenter with a permanent slot. Fortunately the word permanent was never applied to Danny Beard (apologies for mentioning that name, for those trying to forget ?).

Posted
1 hour ago, Helen.a12 said:

I think it’s unfair to call Maya a disaster! ? I used to love her show. Yes she dropped the odd clanger ? but she was fun and more enjoyable to listen to than some I could mention. 

You are genuinely the first person on any forum I've seen say something good about her. Personally I thought she was a dreadful DJ - she was clearly not that interested in the station (never joined in any of the multi-presenter events), her shows were bland, she seemed to know very little and have no passion about the music she played, and she was technically very weak. The only positive I can say about her is that she was better than Danny Beard ?

Posted
9 hours ago, Bluestraw said:

You are genuinely the first person on any forum I've seen say something good about her. Personally I thought she was a dreadful DJ - she was clearly not that interested in the station (never joined in any of the multi-presenter events), her shows were bland, she seemed to know very little and have no passion about the music she played, and she was technically very weak. The only positive I can say about her is that she was better than Danny Beard ?

The involvement thing with the station is key - on paper Jamie Lang had all the problems Maya Jama had, but he’s involved himself in stations events and (despite no radio experience prior to my knowledge) has thrown himself into station events and sounded really keen to be there.

Posted
13 hours ago, Darren m said:

I think James cussack will be on weekdays the few years he’s like Jordan north good at hay ever show he covers 

I really enjoy James but can see him having a career similar to Dev where he's around for quite a while and gets to cover weekday a fair bit but doesn't get a weekday role of his own except maybe Early Breakfast (which is a fairly off-peak slot)

And that's not a bad thing - Dev was on Radio 1 for over a decade. 

Posted

Back to topic, I think what has shown time and time again over the years is that the listeners are able to spot from a mile off who genuinely loves radio and being on Radio 1 and those are the ones who connect best with listeners. The likes of Scott, Greg and Jordan for example connect with listeners in a way that most celeb hires over the year really haven't. 

That's not to say that you can't be a celeb hire and succeed or that not starting from student radio is the end of the world. Mollie King for example was probably able to get her foot in the door by being a celebrity but quickly got the radio bug and put in the time and effort to learn and improve and was prepared to do off peak slots for several years before ending up on weekdays. 

So it's not a set rule either way. But yep if you're not a radio person it's probably better to have a gradual rise and start from cover to a weekend/early slot rather than being too fast-tracked and being seen as the 'golden child' of TPTB. 

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
On 8/30/2025 at 10:24 AM, Bluestraw said:

You are genuinely the first person on any forum I've seen say something good about her. Personally I thought she was a dreadful DJ - she was clearly not that interested in the station (never joined in any of the multi-presenter events), her shows were bland, she seemed to know very little and have no passion about the music she played, and she was technically very weak. The only positive I can say about her is that she was better than Danny Beard ?

Well each to their own I guess! I found her good fun, enjoyable to listen to and not remotely bland. Much better than a few of the current presenters and some the new ones are trying to push forward. 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Posts

    • Who would be everyones ideal cover be   Dean McCullough - Mylo & Rosie Greg James - Matt & Mollie RMC - Nat/Vicky Matt & Mollie - Matt Cover: Lauren Layfield, Mollie Cover: Jeremaiah Asaimah, If both of them are of I would have James Cusack Cover Going Home - I would have Emil on with Katie on Weds & Thurs and If Jamie is ever off on Tuesdays, If Katie & Jamie are both off I would have Sam & Danni Cover Jack Saunders - Sian Eleri Sian Eleri - Tara Kumar  Power Down Playlists - Casskidd   James Cusack - Joel Mitchell/Conor Knight Nat/Vicky - Minah Shannon/ Charley Marlowe/ Lauren Redfern Sam/Danni - Sam Cover: Emil Franchi, Danni Cover: Lauren Layfield          
    • Shanequa's on Life Hacks as normal...
    • Highly doubt it I would expect to see Sara get it and someone else drive, now Trevor could do drive and someone new on afternoons that is feasable.  Saying things like that on air is just them playing up to the mics, if there was a serious convo to have they would not say on air I need to talk off air, plus if he "was/is" the new host, he will be under an NDA until the official press release and publicity just as Scott was (Scott's negoitations for breakfast took place back in the Summer of 2024, and when he covered Zoe for ten weeks in Summer he knew then he had the gig. They will all be bound by NDAs and contractual things that are just not worth loosing a gig for to talk about, even confidentially with collegues. Even though I work in ILR, I can kind of relate to this. I already know plans to move me aroud on the schedule coming up but I am not allowed to talk about it to any other presenters because they are partly involved in the changes, and the station want to do a press release aroud it, so yes I have had the conversation about moving with my boss weeks ago, heard the proposal, agreed to the change then been told not to talk about it, so these things even happen at a local level.  When I said I agreed to the change, it was an offer I could not refuse, but had it been and I dissagreed they may have either dropped me completely, or told me tough this is happening, or found someone else to fill where I was being placed and me get the worse of the two. So it is kind of in your interest to say yes.  Of course on their level their agents do all the negoiating for them, not sure if they are even at the meetings or if it is all done afterwards with back and forward emails and all.  A previous Community station I worked at, the PD would make changes quite a bit, when he did he would talk to all involved first, make sure they could do what he required of them, then he would make you sign an NDA until he formally told the rest of the station about the changes and released it on social media and the website as a news story. Again if you could not do what was being asked, he used to simply drop you and find someone else, which is what happened to me ultimately. 
    • Could it be Trevor? I was just listening to Greg James Breakfast podcast from Friday, and as they were wrapping up Trevor was passing and popped in to say hello. He said to Greg "I need to talk to you - off air".  
    • Pete sits in for Shanequa today although its not listed on bbc sounds
    • One of the stations main concerns regarding OJ is his reluctance to move to London permanently which is where the station seems to like the weekday shows coming from. I think he could do drive from Manchester and can't see how how he can do Piano room from up there
    • Exactly he had a very good 'job interview' and therefore his appointment was quite simple really. Similarly now the only viable person who has had any sort of experience covering in Sara, which is why it makes sense for her to get it. The only risk is that her R1 breakfast show was not a success, but she's a very different presenter now so that shouldn't count against her. Highly unlikely that they'd bring someone new to the station for the show, and of those on the books already there's not really another option. Of course it's possible Sara doesn't want it which would then make things tricky and that is perhaps the only way it'd open up to someone external. But assuming she does, the harder thing is then who replaces her. Many think OJ will have it, I am less sure the station have such big plans for him but I guess we'll see.
    • But he also covered Breakfast for 10 weeks and it made the most sense. Helen would have known how good it sounded with him covering 
    • Scott getting breakfast was a strange one for me as he had only done afternoons for about 18 months and had had had loads of time off for RATW, wedding and other things 
    • It really depends on how long they want to wait to make changes. If it’s just a case of shuffling presenters around there’s no reason why Sara couldn’t be in place for the summer. R1 did a schedule change in July a couple of months back so they could pick a similar timing here. If they’re looking to poach someone then the timeline would undoubtedly be longer. 
    • Grimmy wasn't that much of a curveball. He was promoted from within, had been on Radio 1 for 5 years at that point. Although he was in the late evening slot at the time, he had done weekend breakfast beforehand and had done lots of weekday daytime cover. The fact they went with Scott to replace Zoe suggests they're not so keen on going with a completely new name    
    • It’s certainty the safest choice but the BBC often like to throw curve balls like when Nick Grimshaw replaced Chris Moyles, everyone was expecting it to be Scott Mills or Greg James.
    • All this talk of Roman, Greg, is all not going to happen, I am still convinced it will be Sara 
    • They are a brand of their own now in a sense, the kind of pairing as an experement paid off and now they come as a pair, I can see a commerical rival snapping them up for a breakfast show somewhere, if it is true about Jamie and Amanda, then maybe to Heart?   
    • Yeah I feel they would be more likely than Greg to do the move!
×
×
  • Create New...