28 February – Radio 2 Drivetime presenter Johnnie Walker announces he will leave the show after seven years. He will present his last show on 31 March.[3]
London's 102.2 Smooth FM gives away £118,454 to a listener from Essex who correctly identifies their Secret Song as Diana Ross's My Old Piano. The Secret Song has been running since November 2005 and, at this time is the biggest cash prize on radio this century.[5]
23 April – The Radio 4 UK Theme is used for the last time, amid controversy over its axing by Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer.[7][8] The decision to axe the theme, which had been used since 1978, to make way for a 'pacy news briefing' led to widespread coverage in the media and even debate in Parliament.[9]
April – The timeslot for Bob Harris's Saturday evening show on Radio 2 is moved forward an hour, meaning it airs from 11pm to 2am instead of 10pm to 1am.
May
No events
June
24 June – The final edition of Home Truths is broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
June – Nick Clarke broadcasts Fighting to Be Normal on BBC Radio 4, an audio diary of his treatment for cancer. In August he returns to presenting The World at One on the network, but his last appearance is on 12 September and he dies on 23 November.
July
25 July – A Secret Song competition on Manchester's 100.4 Smooth FM is won by a listener who correctly identifies the track as Razzamatazz by Quincy Jones. The competition had been running since 27 March with the prize money standing at £86,500 at the time it was won.[10]
July – Networking is increased on the north of England Magic stations when the local afternoon show is dropped in favour of a networked programme. Consequently, only the breakfast show is locally produced.
1 October – Kirsty Young takes over as presenter of Desert Island Discs. Her first guest is children's author and illustrator Quentin Blake.[12]
10 October – Talksport becomes the first national commercial radio broadcaster to win Premier League commentary rights. Talksport wins a package that allows it to broadcast the second choice Saturday afternoon games that kick off at 3pm – the BBC will get first pick.[13]
22 October – A new chart show called Fresh 40 launches. Aired on the Kiss and Galaxy networks and other youth-orientated stations, it counts down the top 40 r’n’b and dance songs and is broadcast against commercial radio's Hit40uk chart programme and the BBC Radio 1 Sunday afternoon chart show.
November
3 November – Charles Wood's play The Conspiracy of Sèvres (about the 1956 Suez Crisis) is broadcast.
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