2000 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 2000.

Events

January

• 18 January – Sitcom Revolting People opens on BBC Radio 4, set in colonial Baltimore, Maryland around the period of the American Revolutionary War and written by Andy Hamilton with the American Jay Tarses, with Tarses playing sour shopkeeper Samuel Oliphant and Hamilton playing cheerfully corrupt Sergeant Roy McGurk, billeted on him.

February

• 7 February – Plymouth Sound AM is re-branded Classic Gold 1152 (Plymouth).
• 9 February – Mike Harding presents highlights of the first annual BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, which were awarded at London's Waldorf Hotel. ^[1]
• 14 February – BBC Thames Valley FM closes because the station was not popular with listeners, resulting in the return of BBC Radio Berkshire and BBC Radio Oxford. ^[2] Their programme schedules remain unchanged and most output continues to be shared.
• 17 February – Talk Radio UK is rebranded as talkSPORT.

March

• 10 March – Zoë Ball presents the Radio 1 Breakfast Show for the final time. ^[3] Scott Mills begins a three-week stint as the show's temporary presenter. ^[4]
• 14 March – Chris Evans sells his Ginger Media Group to SMG plc for £225m. ^[5] The sale makes Evans the highest paid entertainer in the UK in 2000, estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List to have been paid around £35.5million. ^[6]
• 27 March – BBC London Live 94.9 replaces GLR. The refreshed station is more speech-focused and becomes the first BBC Local station to broadcast round-the-clock. ^{[7] [8]}
• 31 March – Katrina Leskanich presents her last night time show on BBC Radio 2.
• March – Helen Boaden is appointed as controller of BBC Radio 4.

April

• 3 April –
  • Sara Cox takes over as presenter of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show . ^[9]
  • Janice Long begins presenting the night time show on Radio 2.

May

• 2 May – In Manchester, Lite AM is replaced by BIG 1458 AM.
• 17 May – Virgin Radio is fined £75,000 (the largest penalty imposed by the Radio Authority at this time) for breakfast show presenter Chris Evans's repeated on-air endorsement of Ken Livingstone in the London mayoral elections. ^[10]
• May –
  • Capital Radio buys Border Radio Holdings, thereby acquiring the three Century radio stations. ^[11]

June

• No events.

July

• 10 July – Ten 17 changes its name to Ten 17 Mercury.
• July –
  • Bob Shennan replaces Roger Mosey as Controller of BBC Radio 5 Live. ^[12]
  • BBC Radio 3 hires Andy Kershaw to host a world music programme, ^[13] two months after BBC Radio 1 axed his world music show. ^[14]

August

• 1 August – ITN launches ITN News Radio. It broadcasts nationally on the recently launched Digital One multiplex.
• 4 August – Radio 1 breakfast show presenter Sara Cox is reprimanded after saying live on air that Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother "smelt of wee". ^[15]

September

• No events.

October

• 2 October – LBH Radio launches. Broadcasting on MW and Sky Digital, LBH is Britain's first radio station targeting the LGBT community. ^[16]
• 21 October – The comedian Jack Docherty joins Radio 2 to host Saturday Night Jack, a 13-part series featuring music, reviews and interviews. ^[17]

November

• 14 November – The audio relay on DAB of BBC Parliament closes.

December

• 4 December – FLR 107.3 changes its name to Fusion 107.3FM.
• 20 December – Following the death of singer Kirsty MacColl, Radio 2 have postponed a series she recorded about Cuban music that was due to begin airing on this day. ^[18] The eight-part series, Kirsty MacColl's Cuba is instead broadcast from 31 January 2001. ^[19]
• 26 December – Radio 4 clears its Boxing Day schedule in order to broadcast an eight-hour reading of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , read by Stephen Fry. ^[20]

Station debuts

• 26 January – Q97.2
• 1 May – 106.3 Bridge FM
• 2 May – Oneword ^[21]
• 3 May – Choice 107.1
• 29 May – Kick FM
• May – TotalRock ^[22]
• 26 June – The Groove
• 10 July – Argyll FM
• 25 July – 2BR
• 2 October – LBH Radio
• 3 October – Real Radio Wales
• 16 October – PrimeTime Radio
• Unknown – Source FM

Programme debuts

• January – The Big Booth on BBC Radio 4 (2000–2001)
• 7 January – Dead Ringers on BBC Radio 4 (2000–2007, 2014–Present)
• 18 January – Revolting People on BBC Radio 4 (2000–2006)
• February – BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards on BBC Radio 2 (2000–Present)
• March – The Hudson and Pepperdine Show on BBC Radio 4 (2000–2005)
• May – The Human Zoo on talkSPORT (2000–2002)
• 3 May – Smelling of Roses on BBC Radio 4 (2000–2003)
• 11 July – Ectoplasm on BBC Radio 4 (2000)
• 3 August – Little Britain on BBC Radio 4 (2000–2002)
• 31 August – Big John @ Breakfast on Hallam FM (2000–Present)
• 21 October – Saturday Night Jack on BBC Radio 2 (2000–2001)
• 19 December – Acropolis Now on BBC Radio 4 (2000–2002)
• Unknown
  • Forty Nights in the Wildebeest on BBC Radio 4 (2000)
  • Sounds of the 70s with Steve Harley on BBC Radio 2 (2000–2008, 2009–Present)

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

• Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
• Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
• Letter from America (1946–2004)
• Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
• A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

1950s

• The Archers (1950–Present)
• The Today Programme (1957–Present)
• Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
• Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

1960s

• Farming Today (1960–Present)
• In Touch (1961–Present)
• The World at One (1965–Present)
• The Official Chart (1967–Present)
• Just a Minute (1967–Present)
• The Living World (1968–Present)
• The Organist Entertains (1969–2018)

1970s

• PM (1970–Present)
• Start the Week (1970–Present)
• You and Yours (1970–Present)
• I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–Present)
• Good Morning Scotland (1973–Present)
• Newsbeat (1973–Present)
• The News Huddlines (1975–2001)
• File on 4 (1977–Present)
• Money Box (1977–Present)
• The News Quiz (1977–Present)
• Feedback (1979–Present)
• The Food Programme (1979–Present)
• Science in Action (1979–Present)

1980s

• Steve Wright in the Afternoon (1981–1993, 1999–2022)
• In Business (1983–Present)
• Sounds of the 60s (1983–Present)
• Loose Ends (1986–Present)

1990s

• The Moral Maze (1990–Present)
• Essential Selection (1991–Present)
• No Commitments (1992–2007)
• The Pepsi Chart (1993–2002)
• Wake Up to Wogan (1993–2009)
• Essential Mix (1993–Present)
• Up All Night (1994–Present)
• Wake Up to Money (1994–Present)
• Private Passions (1995–Present)
• Parkinson's Sunday Supplement (1996–2007)
• The David Jacobs Collection (1996–2013)
• Westway (1997–2005)
• The 99p Challenge (1998–2004)
• Puzzle Panel (1998–2005)
• Drivetime with Johnnie Walker (1998–2006)
• Sunday Night at 10 (1998–2013)
• In Our Time (1998–Present)
• Material World (1998–Present)
• Scott Mills (1998–2022)
• The Now Show (1998–Present)
• The Attractive Young Rabbi (1999–2002)
• It's Been a Bad Week (1999–2006)
• Jonathan Ross (1999–2010)

Closing this year

• 14 February – BBC Thames Valley FM (1996–2000)
• 28 September – Channel Travel Radio

Deaths

• January 28 – Jean Metcalfe, 76, radio broadcaster
• March 7 – Eileen Fowler, 93, fitness instructor
• April 10 – Peter Jones, 79, comic actor
• August 6 – Sir Robin Day, 76, political broadcaster

See also

• 2000 in British music
• 2000 in British television
• 2000 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 2000

References

1. "Mike Harding- BBCFolk Awards 2000 – BBC Radio 2 – 9 February 2000 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
2. "BBC News – BBC hopes for capital gains". 31 August 1999. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
3. "Schedule - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
4. "Schedule - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
5. "Evans sells up". BBC News. 13 January 2000. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
6. "Evans tops UK showbiz earners". BBC News. 18 November 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
7. "BBC Radio Announces Rebranding Of Its GLR Service". The Media Leader. 25 February 2000.
8. "GLR becomes London Live in BBC rebrand". Broadcast. 17 December 1999.
9. "Schedule - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
10. Moyes, Jojo (17 May 2000). "Evans counts the cost of supporting Ken: £100,000 (plus a £75,000 fine)" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2009.^{[ dead link ]}
11. "Capital Radio bags Border TV". BBC News. 13 April 2000. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
12. "New boss for BBC's Radio 5 Live". The Guardian . London.
13. "Radio 3 snaps up Kershaw". The Guardian. London.
14. "BBC under fire for teen bias after DJ is axed". The Guardian. London.
15. "DJ Cox's Queen Mother gaffe". BBC News Online. 4 August 2000.
16. Born, Matt (14 December 2001). "Gay radio's future is in the pink". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 24 September 2009.
17. "Saturday Night Jack – BBC Radio 2 – 21 October 2000 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
18. Laville, Sandra (20 December 2000). "Kirsty MacColl killed in boating accident". Telegraph. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
19. "Entertainment – Postponed MacColl series airs". BBC News. 1 February 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
20. Hodgson, Jessica (29 November 2000). "Radio 4 to broadcast eight-hour Harry Potter Boxing Day special". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
21. "Oneword Radio unveils launch schedule". Broadcast Now. 18 April 2000. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
22. Ingram, Ash (9 June 2025). "TotalRock celebrates 25 years on air supporting rock and metal". Radio Today. Retrieved 10 June 2025.