Yep it was slightly odd that you had all these changes announced starting this autumn but that the show that has been most inconsistent they just left untouched.  I think where it stood out was the slightly absurd situation we had last month where because Katie was ill you had Lauren Layfield covering Going Home despite only becoming a parent in the summer which is far more recently than Vick and Jamie.  Everybody's situation is different and Lauren perhaps was keen to return to work quickly after giving birth but yep it was a bit of an eyebrow-raiser that she was covering for presenters on parental leave given she'd given birth well after them.   

They normally list the presenters for that show all the time 

Life Hacks on the 18th October has a generic show description rather than listning Ore and Shanequa as presenters, might me there will be some cover.

I had a lot of sympathy for this situation for ages, with the presenters having kids etc. Comparison with Katie's own child is a little unfair as it's very much an individual choice how to deal with parental leave. However, now we're into October and still things are continuing like this, it feels 'enough is enough'! Btw not sure it's 'three-quarters' of the main line-up, more like two-thirds 😉

What strikes me most about the Going Home show is that its named trio of presenters are more often absent than present. Radio is an inherently personal medium built on routine, listeners tune in at 3:30 expecting familiarity but getting anything but. While I completely appreciate that people have personal lives and newborns, this is a flagship show on a prestigious national station, not a local community broadcast. Three-quarters of the main lineup are frequently missing, whereas Katie Thistleton, who also has a newborn and was initially an afterthought in the lineup announcement, shows up Monday through Thursday like a true professional. Ultimately, this isn’t the presenters' fault; it’s a failure of management for allowing this disjointed routine to continue. You don't see this lack of consistency on ANY other major show or station. There’s a reason for that, it wouldn’t be tolerated at such level. Head of Radio 1 Aled Haydn Jones needs to take responsibility for sorting this out, not just sidelining the issue.

What strikes me most about the Going Home show is that its named trio of presenters are more often absent than present. Radio is an inherently personal medium built on routine, listeners tune in at 3:30 expecting familiarity but getting anything but. While I completely appreciate that people have personal lives and newborns, this is a flagship show on a prestigious national station, not a local community broadcast. Three-quarters of the main lineup are frequently missing, whereas Katie Thistleton, who also has a newborn and was initially an afterthought in the lineup announcement, shows up Monday through Thursday like a true professional. Ultimately, this isn’t the presenters' fault; it’s a failure of management for allowing this disjointed routine to continue. You don't see this lack of consistency on ANY other major show or station. There’s a reason for that, it wouldn’t be tolerated at such level. Head of Radio 1 Aled Haydn Jones needs to take responsibility for sorting this out, not just sidelining the issue.    

I am pretty sure post maternity leave you can choose to return to work part time. Maybe Vick has taken this route? I have nothing against Vick, Jamie or the power of having flexibility when raising a family - but it is such a shame we can’t get the first class pairing of Katie & Emil on a permanent basis.