2007 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 2007.

Events

• 2 January - Central Tonight sports presenter Sarah-Jane Mee joins 100.7 Heart FM as a breakfast show presenter alongside Ed James. She had briefly presented the show in Summer 2006 while James's then co-host Helen Kennedy was on maternity leave.^[1]
• 28 January - Alan Titchmarsh joins BBC Radio 2 to present Alan Titchmarsh with Melodies for You on Sunday evenings.^[2]
• January - The Channel 4 Radio brand is launched by Channel 4.^[3]
• 5 March - The Coventry University students union radio station Source Radio launches to Coventry on 1431AM.^[4][5] The station, under the management of Kat Page, celebrates the occasion with a special programme presented live from the Student's Union nightclub, FiftyFour. Source was launched on AM to fill the gap left by youth station Kix 96 after it was rebranded as Touch Radio and adopted an adult contemporary format.
• 21 March - It is confirmed that former Radio 2 presenter Lynn Parsons and ex-Capital host Mike Allen will join 102.2 Smooth Radio which launches on 26 March. The line-up will also include Graham Dene, Mark Goodier, Kevin Greening, Martin Collins and Nick Barraclough.^[6] Mark Goodier will present his first daily radio show for more than a decade on the station.^[7]
• 26 March - All Smooth Radio and Saga Radio are relaunched as the Smooth Network.
• 29 March – BBC WM presenter Tony Butler apologises to listeners following comments he made on air the previous day about women and the armed forces. Speaking about the Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel, which included a female officer, he said women should not be in war zones and, that were she decapitated, "it would serve her right".^[8]
• 4 April - Broadcaster Bob Harris announces he will take a break from his Radio 2 shows while he receives treatment for prostate cancer.
• 10 April - Les Ross takes over the weekday afternoon show on BBC Radio WM.
• 16 April - The first Radcliffe and Maconie Show presented by Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie is aired on Radio 2.
• 25 June - It is announced that the Heart Network along with its sister stations The Arrow, LBC and Galaxy are to be sold for £170 million to Global Radio from Chrysalis Radio.^[9]
• 3 August - All stations in the Classic Gold and Capital Gold networks are replaced by a new network called simply Gold, the result of the merger of the Classic Gold and Capital Gold networks under one owner, GCap Media.
• 13 August - Concern is expressed for Radio 2 presenter Sarah Kennedy following her slurred speech throughout the day's edition of her Dawn Patrol programme. Blaming a sore throat, she presents the following day's show as normal, before taking a month-long break, leaving the show to be presented by colleagues Pete Mitchell, Alex Lester, Aled Jones and Richard Allinson.^[10] It was later reported that Kennedy was recovering from pneumonia,^[11] and she returned to work on 10 September.
• 23 August - GMG Radio confirms that Mark Goodier's mid-morning show on 102.2 Smooth Radio will be syndicated across other Smooth stations in the network from September.^[7]
• 31 August – In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's Simon Mayo, television writer Jimmy McGovern describes the BBC as "one of the most racist institutions in England" because of the lack of ethnic people in prominent positions. The BBC responds by saying it is "actively seeking and nurturing ethnic talents both on and off the air."^[12]
• 12 September - CTR 105.6 is rebranded as KMFM Maidstone.
• 25 September - Heat Radio re-launches with presenters and showbiz news throughout the day, having previously been a music only service.^[13]
• 30 September - BBC Radio 1 celebrates its 40th birthday.^[14]
• 19 October - Michael Parkinson announces he will leave his Sunday morning Radio 2 show, Parkinson's Sunday Supplement after 11 years.^[15] He presented his last show in December.^[16]
• 31 October - The BBC issues an apology following comments made by Sarah Kennedy on her Dawn Patrol show the previous week. In a segment about the importance of wearing visible clothing in winter road conditions, she joked that she had almost run over a black pedestrian because she couldn't see him in the dark.^[17]
• 1 December - Having returned to Bob Harris Country in November, Bob Harris returns to his Saturday evening show.
• 17 December - Several Welsh radio stations owned by Town and Country Broadcasting say they will boycott The 2007 X Factor winner Leon Jackson's debut single, When You Believe amid suggestions that phone line issues resulted in Jackson's rival, Welshman Rhydian Roberts losing out to him in the final. The stations concerned are Bridge FM, Swansea Bay Radio, Radio Carmarthenshire, Radio Pembrokeshire and Scarlet FM.^[18]
• 18 December - BBC Radio 1 is forced to backtrack on a decision to begin playing a censored version of The Pogues' 1987 Christmas hit Fairytale of New York. The song which sees Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan trading insults has the words "faggot" and "slut" edited out to "avoid offence", but after a day of criticism from listeners, the band, and MacColl's mother, the decision is reversed and the original version played in full.^[19][20]

Station debuts

• February - Harborough FM
• 5 March - Source Radio (Coventry-wide on AM)
• 26 March -
  • 100.4 Smooth Radio operates in North West England.
  • 102.2 Smooth Radio operates in London
  • 105.2 Smooth Radio - Glasgow
  • 106.6 Smooth Radio - East Midlands
  • 105.7 Smooth Radio airs in the West Midlands
• 16 April - Life FM (Harlesden)
• 20 May - Original 106.5 (Bristol)
• 8 June - NE1fm
• 6 August - Future Radio
• 3 September - Radio Scilly
• 5 October - Seaside FM
• 8 October - Radio Cardiff
• 28 October - Original 106 (Aberdeen)
• 10 December - Phoenix Radio
• 14 December - Sunshine Radio (FM)
• December - Chaine FM
• Unknown - Aberdeen Student Radio

Closing this year

Deaths

• 16 February - Sheridan Morley, 65, author, biographer, critic, director, actor and broadcaster^[21]
• 1 October - Ned Sherrin, 76, broadcaster, author and stage director^[22]
• 29 October - Anthony Clare, 64, psychiatrist and broadcaster^[23]
• 30 December - Kevin Greening, 44, radio presenter who co-hosted the Radio 1 breakfast show (1997–1998)^[24]

References