Timeline of breakfast radio programmes in the UK explained

This is a timeline of the history of the broadcasting of breakfast radio programmes on national stations in the United Kingdom.

1950s

• 1950 to 1956
  • No events.
• 1957
  • 28 October – The Today programme launches on the BBC Home Service as a programme of "topical talks" to give listeners an alternative to listening to light music which the Home Service had previously broadcast at breakfast.^[1]
• 1958
  • No events.
• 1959
  • No events.

1960s

• 1960 to 1964
  • No events.
• 1965
  • 25 October – Breakfast Special is broadcast for the first time on the BBC Light Programme. The programme replaces Morning Music.
• 1966
  • No events.
• 1967
  • 30 September – Tony Blackburn launches BBC Radio 1 when he starts presenting the first edition of the Radio 1 Breakfast. 90 minutes earlier, BBC Radio 2 had also gone on air for the first time, its breakfast show was the continuation of Breakfast Special, presented by Paul Hollingdale.
• 1968
  • January – Tony Blackburn stops presenting the breakfast show on Saturdays. Rather than replace him, BBC Radio 1 simulcasts The Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
• 1969
  • No events.

1970s

• 1970
  • 5 January – John Dunn replaces Paul Hollingdale as host of The Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
  • 6 April – The first Thought for the Day is broadcast on the Today programme, replacing Ten to Eight.
• 1971
  • No events.
• 1972
  • 3 April – Terry Wogan joins BBC Radio 2 to present The Radio 2 Breakfast Show. He replaces John Dunn who moves to afternoons. Breakfast Special disappears from the airwaves after seven years and a new early morning show is introduced, resulting in BBC Radio 2 starting the day on weekdays and Saturdays 30 minutes earlier at 5am. Sunday broadcasting still commenced at just before 7am.
• 1973
  • 1 June – Tony Blackburn presents his final Radio 1 Breakfast show, having fronted it since the station went on air in 1967.
  • 4 June – Noel Edmonds takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast.
• 1974
  • No events.
• 1975
  • No events.
• 1976
  • No events.
• 1977
  • 2 May – BBC Radio 4 launches a new breakfast programme Up to the Hour. Consequently, The Today Programme is reduced from a continuous two-hour programme to two 25-minute slots.
• 1978
  • 28 April – Noel Edmonds presents the Radio 1 Breakfast show for the final time.
  • 2 May – Dave Lee Travis takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast.^[2]
  • 3 July – Changes are made to the station's weekday breakfast schedule. After just over a year on air, Up to the Hour is cancelled. Consequently, Today once again becomes a continuous two-hour programme. Also, a new weekday 6am News Briefing is introduced.
• 1979
  • No events.

1980s

• 1980
  • No events.
• 1981
  • 2 January – Dave Lee Travis steps down from presenting Radio 1 Breakfast.
  • 5 January – Mike Read succeeds Dave Lee Travis as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast.
• 1982
  • 27 February – Radio 1’s weekend breakfast programme is renamed as Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show and Maggie Philbin and Keith Chegwin join Tony Blackburn as co-presenters.
  • 31 December – The last regional opt-out programming ends when the final edition of Morning Sou'West is broadcast ahead of the forthcoming launch of BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall.
• 1983
  • No events.
• 1984
  • 29 September – Radio 1’s weekend breakfast show is revamped with Peter Powell replacing Tony Blackburn as the presenter.^[3] The children's requests element of the show is dropped.^[4]
  • 28 December – Terry Wogan ends his first run as presenter of The Radio 2 Breakfast Show as he leaves the station for a while.^[5]
• 1985
  • 7 January – Ken Bruce takes over The Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
• 1986
  • 7 April – Derek Jameson takes over The Radio 2 Breakfast Show from Ken Bruce.
  • 18 April – Mike Read presents his final Radio 1 Breakfast show after five years in the hot seat.
  • 5 May – Mike Smith rejoins Radio 1 for the last time, after spending the past two years working for BBC TV, to take over Radio 1 Breakfast from Mike Read.^[6]
  • 24 December – John Timpson presents The Today programme for the final time.^[7]
• 1987
  • 3 January – The Today programme is extended to six days a week when it launches a Saturday edition and John Humphrys joins the programme's presenting team as John Timpson's replacement.
• 1988
  • 23 May – Simon Mayo takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast, replacing Mike Smith.^[8] The new programme takes on a zoo format by introducing co-hosts and new features.
  • 1 October – Mark Goodier and Liz Kershaw replace Peter Powell as presenter and co-presenter of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.
• 1989
  • 1 April – Bruno Brookes replaces Mark Goodier as presenter of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.

1990s

• 1990
  • 28 August – The first edition of BBC Radio 5's weekday breakfast programme Morning Edition is broadcast. It is presented by Sarah Ward and Jon Briggs.
• 1991
  • 1 May – The launch of 24-hour broadcasting on BBC Radio 1 sees the Simon Mayo Breakfast Show starting and finishing 30 minutes earlier and airing between 6am and 9am.
  • 20 December – Derek Jameson leaves The Radio 2 Breakfast Show after presenting it for five years.^[9]
• 1992
  • 6 January – Brian Hayes takes over as host of The Radio 2 Breakfast Show. He presents the show for the rest of the year, ending his run on 23 December.
  • 9 February – The final edition of the Bruno and Liz Breakfast show is broadcast on BBC Radio 1.
  • 17 February – Danny Baker replaces Sarah Ward and Jon Briggs as presenter of the BBC Radio 5 weekday breakfast programme Morning Edition.^[10]
  • 9 March – Gary Davies takes over as host of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.
  • 13 July – In a bid to counteract the forthcoming launch of Classic FM, Radio 3 makes major changes to its programmes, including the launch of new weekday breakfast programme^[11] called On Air, which replaces Morning Concert on weekdays.
  • 7 September – Classic FM launches with breakfast show presenter Nick Bailey opening the action at 6am.
• 1993
  • 4 January – Terry Wogan returns to the BBC Radio 2 with Wake Up to Wogan.
  • July – Jonathan Coleman becomes Russ Williams breakfast show co-host on the recently launched Virgin 1215.
  • 3 September – Simon Mayo leaves Radio 1 Breakfast after five years in the chair, ahead of his move to mid-mornings to replace Simon Bates.
  • 6 September – Mark Goodier takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast and hosts the show until the end of the year.
  • November – Michele Stevens replaces Danny Baker as the presenter of Morning Edition on BBC Radio 5.
• 1994
  • 1 January – Kevin Greening joins BBC Radio 1 and takes over the Weekend Breakfast from Gary Davies.
  • 10 January – Steve Wright becomes Radio 1's latest breakfast show presenter.^[12]
  • 27 November – Clive Warren joins BBC Radio 1 and takes over the Weekend Breakfast from Kevin Greening.
• 1995
  • 24 April – Chris Evans takes over Radio 1 Breakfast from Steve Wright, following differences with the station's new management.
  • Radio 3 begins broadcasting an hour earlier on weekdays at 6am, when breakfast show On Air is extended from two to three hours.^[13]
  • 21 October – Ahead of a schedule revamp, Johnnie Walker leaves BBC Radio 1. The changes include Clive Warren moving from the weekend breakfast show to the weekday early show, replacing Dave Pearce who launches a new weekend mid-morning show, replacing Kevin Greening who takes over weekend breakfast show which includes a new weekend breakfast series Newsbeat presented by Peter Bowes.^[14]
• 1996
  • 18 March – Mike Read replaces Nick Bailey as host of Classic FM’s breakfast show.
• 1997
  • January – Chris Evans leaves Radio 1 Breakfast and the station after being dismissed.
  • 17 February – Mark and Lard become the new presenters of Radio 1 Breakfast.^[15]
  • 3 May – Brian Hayes replaces Julian Worricker as BBC Radio 5 Live’s weekend breakfast presenter.
  • 13 October
    • Mark and Lard leave the Radio 1 Breakfast show to move to an afternoon slot and Zoe Ball joins the station to co-host the show with Kevin Greening.
    • Chris Evans takes over the Virgin Radio breakfast show from Russ Williams.
• 1998
  • 29 March – BBC Radio 3’s Sunday breakfast programme Sacred and Profane is broadcast for the final time.^[16]
  • 4 April – Breakfast programme On Air extends to weekends.^[17]
  • 6 April – As part of an earlier start to BBC Radio 4’s day, the weekday editions of The Today programme are extended by 30 minutes to three hours.^[18]
  • 7 September – Peter Allen and Jane Garvey take over as presenters of 5 Live Drive which replaces Nationwide as the station's teatime programme. They swap with Julian Worricker who takes over the breakfast programme.
  • 25 September – Kevin Greening leaves Radio 1 Breakfast leaving Zoe Ball as the sole presenter as he moves back to weekends to replace Clive Warren as host of the Sunday weekend breakfast show.
  • 5 October – Virgin Radio starts simulcasts of the breakfast show on Sky One each morning for an hour between 7:30am and 8:30am. When a track was played on the radio, viewers see the track's video at the same time.^{[19] [20]}
• 1999
  • 11 September – Breakfast programme On Air is renamed Morning on 3.^[21]

2000s

• 2000
  • 10 March – Zoe Ball presents Radio 1 Breakfast for the final time as she leaves the station.^[22]
  • 13 March – Scott Mills begins a three-week stint as Radio 1 Breakfast’s temporary presenter.^[23]
  • 3 April – Sara Cox takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast and Mark Chapman joins where he starts hosting his first ever Newsbeat sports bulletins.^[24]
• 2001
  • 28 June – Chris Evans is dismissed from Virgin Radio for repeatedly failing to arrive at work. He is replaced by the older Steve Penk whom Evans criticised for his age, 39 versus Evans's then 35.^[25]
• 2002
  • 28 January – Daryl Denham takes over Virgin Radio’s breakfast show from Steve Penk.^[26]
• 2003
  • 6 January – Pete and Geoff take over as presenters of Virgin Radio’s weekday breakfast show. They replace Daryl Denham who moves to the Drivetime show.
  • 13 January – Nicky Campbell replaces Julian Worricker as co-host of the breakfast show on BBC Radio 5 Live.^[27]
  • 9 June – Simon Bates replaces Henry Kelly as Classic FM's weekday breakfast show presenter.^[28]
  • 20 September – Spoony takes over as the sole presenter of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.^[29]
  • 19 December – Sara Cox presents her final Radio 1 Breakfast show.
• 2004
  • 5 January – Chris Moyles takes over Radio 1 Breakfast under his own name with a return of the zoo format.
• 2005
  • 16 December – Pete and Geoff present Virgin Radio’s breakfast show for the final time.
• 2006
  • 23 January – Christian O'Connell presents the first edition of The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio.^[30]
  • 23 September – Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates replace Spoony as presenters of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.
• 2007
  • 17 September – BBC Radio 3's breakfast programme is renamed from Mornings on 3 to Breakfast.
  • 13 October – Nihal replaces Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates as the host of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.
• 2008
  • 23 September – Chappers and Dave present Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show for six weeks until Nick Grimshaw takes over on 25 October.
• 2009
  • March – Frank Skinner joins Absolute Radio to host the Saturday breakfast show. The show was initially planned to last 12 weeks but it is extended due to its popularity.^[31] The show is still running with both Emily Dean and Alun Cochrane.^{[32] [33]}
  • 26 September – Edith Bowman becomes the permanent presenter of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show after Chappers and Dave and Dev had presented the show over the Summer.
  • 18 December – After 28 years in 2 separate stints, Sir Terry Wogan presents his final breakfast show.^[34]

2010s

• 2010
  • 11 January – Chris Evans takes over from Sir Terry Wogan as presenter of the breakfast show.^[35] The show's launch also sees the return of newsreader Moira Stuart to the BBC after two years away.^{[36] [37]}
• 2011
  • No events.
• 2012
  • 7 April – Gemma Cairney replaces Edith Bowman as presenter of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.
  • 29 June – Tim Lihoreau replaces Mark Forrest as host of the weekday breakfast show on Classic FM with Jane Jones taking over the weekend breakfast show and John Brunning replaces Mark as presenter of the weekly chart show.^[38]
  • 14 September – Chris Moyles hosts his final show as he leaves BBC Radio 1 after 15 years of broadcasting.
  • 24 September – Nick Grimshaw takes over Radio 1 Breakfast.
• 2013
  • April – Tony Livesey becomes the new BBC Radio 5 Live weekend breakfast show host.
  • 16 July – Mishal Husain joins the presenting team of The Today programme on BBC Radio 4.
  • 15 November – Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents Radio 3 Breakfast for the final time. She is replaced on 2 December by weekend breakfast presenter Clemency Burton-Hill.^[39]
• 2014
  • 29 March – Dev replaces Gemma Cairney as presenter of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.
• 2015
  • 21 September – Chris Moyles relaunches The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X, itself a relaunch of the former Xfm broadcast nationally on DAB for the first time
  • 16 December – After 21 years, James Naughtie presents the Today programme for the final time.
• 2016
  • No events.
• 2017
  • No events.
• 2018
  • 4 February – Good Morning Sunday is relaunched and extended into a three-hour show. Presented by Kate Bottley and Jason Mohammad as Jason himself joins BBC Radio 2.^[40]
  • April – Martha Kearney and Sarah Montague swap roles with Sarah leaving the Today programme after 17 years and Martha leaving The World at One after 11 years.^[41]
• 18 May – Christian O'Connell presents Absolute Radio’s breakfast show for the final time.^{[42] [43]} He is replaced on 4 June by Dave Berry.
  • 9 August – Nick Grimshaw presents Radio 1 Breakfast for the final time.
  • 20 August – Greg James becomes the 16th person to present Radio 1 Breakfast.^{[44] [45]}
  • 26 October – BBC Radio 1 announces a schedule change that will see Matt Edmondson and Mollie King co-presenting the Radio 1 Weekend Breakfast Show.^[46]
  • 24 December – After presenting The Radio 2 Breakfast Show for the past eight years, Chris Evans presents the final edition of The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, as he leaves the station to join Virgin Radio UK while Vassos Alexander and Rachel Horne both leave at the same time.^[47]
• 2019
  • 14 January – Zoe Ball takes over as presenter of The Radio 2 Breakfast Show as Richie Anderson, the new travel news reporter for weekday mornings and Tina Daheley both join the station.^[48]
  • 6 September – The new early weekend breakfast show on BBC Radio 1 is running from Friday to Sunday and is presented by Arielle Free. Mollie King gained a new slot, namely Best New Pop.^[49]
  • 19 September – John Humphrys presents his final edition of Radio 4's Today programme after 32 years.^[50]

2020s

• 2020
  • No events.
• 2021
  • 9 January – Adele Roberts replaces Matt Edmondson and Mollie King as the presenter of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.
  • 5 November – Nicky Campbell presents his final Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 5 Live. He had co-presented the show for the past 18 years.^[51]
  • 8 November – Rick Edwards joins Rachel Burden to present a new-look breakfast show on BBC Radio 5 Live. He replaces Nicky Campbell who moves to a new mid-morning slot.^{[52] [53]}
• 2022
  • No events.
• 2023
  • 9 September – Sam McGregor and Danni Distion take over Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show, replacing Adele Roberts.

Notes and References

1. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbchomeservice/basic/1957-10-28 BBC Genome Project – Home Service listings 28 October 1957
2. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England – 2 May 1978 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 19 November 2020.
3. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England – 29 September 1984 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 14 July 2018.
4. Web site: Flashbak Digital Collection. 19 March 2014. 29 December 2014.
5. Web site: BBC Radio 2 – 28 December 1984 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 9 September 2017.
6. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England – 5 May 1986 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 14 July 2018.
7. Web site: BBC Radio 4 FM – 24 December 1986 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
8. Web site: Simon Mayo – BBC Radio 1 England – 23 May 1988 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 14 July 2018.
9. Web site: BBC Radio 2 – 20 December 1991 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 17 June 2018.
10. Web site: Radio 5 – 17 February 1992 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 14 June 2019.
11. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/radio3/1992-07-13 BBC Genome Project – BBC Radio 3 listings 13 July 1992
12. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England – 10 January 1994 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 14 July 2018.
13. Web site: BBC Radio 3 – 9 October 1995 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
14. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England – 21 October 1995 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 19 July 2018.
15. Web site: Mark Radcliffe – BBC Radio 1 England – 17 February 1997 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 29 October 2018.
16. Web site: BBC Radio 3 – 29 March 1998 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
17. Web site: BBC Radio 3 – 4 April 1998 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
18. Web site: BBC News | UK | New image for BBC Radio 4. news.bbc.co.uk.
19. Web site: Bowie . Adam . A Brief History of Virgin Radio . 26 September 2008 . 8 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081202020813/http://onegoldensquare.com/2008/09/a-brief-history-of-virgin-radio-by-adam-bowie/ . 2 December 2008 . live .
20. News: A bumper breakfast, with ulcers . Hester . Lacey . The Independent . London . 4 October 1998 . 29 May 2011.
21. Web site: BBC Radio 3 – 11 September 1999 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
22. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England – 10 March 2000 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
23. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England – 13 March 2000 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
24. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England – 3 April 2000 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
25. News: Penk replaces Evans at Virgin Radio. BBC News. 2001-07-02. 2009-12-30.
26. Web site: Denham to front Virgin breakfast show. 25 January 2002. The Guardian. 30 March 2021.
27. Web site: Campbell given breakfast in Radio 5 Live shake-up. Julia. Day. 26 September 2002. 14 June 2019. www.theguardian.com.
28. Web site: Kelly axed by Classic FM . The Guardian . 9 June 2003 . 30 May 2019.
29. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_radio_one/2003-09-20 BBC Programme index – BBC Radio 1 listings 20 September 2003
30. News: Virgin shouts about O'Connell's arrival as breakfast show campaigns kick off. Daniel. Farey-Jones. Brand Republic. 11 January 2006. 23 July 2012.
31. News: Frank Skinner extends contract at Absolute Radio. Guardian.co.uk. 16 June 2009. 16 June 2009. London. John. Plunkett.
32. News: The Week in Radio: Why waking up with Frank Skinner is an absolute joy. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/the-week-in-radio-why-waking-up-with-frank-skinner-is-an-absolute-joy-9372503.html . 2022-05-07 . subscription . live. Independent.co.uk. 18 May 2016. 14 May 2014. London. fiona. Sturges.
33. Web site: Frank Skinner show . 18 May 2016. Absolute radio.
34. News: Sir Terry Wogan bids farewell to show. BBC News. 18 December 2009. 18 December 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091224064256/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8420157.stm. 24 December 2009 . live.
35. News: Sir Terry to leave breakfast show. BBC News. 7 September 2009. 31 December 2009.
36. News: Moira Stuart returns to the BBC on Chris Evans' radio show. Telegraph.co.uk. Urmee. Khan. 7 January 2010. 14 January 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100110235940/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6941385/Moira-Stuart-returns-to-the-BBC-on-Chris-Evans-radio-show.html. 10 January 2010 . live.
37. News: What the critics say: Chris Evans' Radio 2 breakfast show debut. BBC News. Mark. Savage. 11 January 2010. 14 January 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100114054858/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/2010/01/what_the_critics_say_chris_eva.html. 14 January 2010 . live.
38. https://radiotoday.co.uk/2012/06/breakfast-schedule-changes-at-classic-fm/ Breakfast schedule changes at Classic FM
39. Web site: BBC – Radio 3 announces presenter changes – Media Centre. www.bbc.co.uk.
40. News: A new look for Sunday mornings on Radio 2. BBC. BBC Press Office. 20 December 2017. 12 January 2018.
41. News: Sarah Montague signs off Today programme with final jibe at John Humphrys . Furness . Hannah . Daily Telegraph . 30 March 2018 . 3 July 2018.
42. https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/arn-secures-uk-radio-star-christian-oconnell-gold-1043 ARN secures UK radio star Christian O'Connell for Gold 104.3
43. News: When does Christian O'Connell leave Absolute Radio?. Jessia. Lindsay. Metro. 4 May 2018. ch
44. Web site: Nick Grimshaw and Greg James to swap Radio 1 shows . BBC Media Centre. BBC. 31 May 2018. 14 July 2018.
45. News: Greg James's Radio 1 Breakfast: What we learned from the first show . BBC News . BBC . 20 August 2018 . 20 August 2018.
46. News: Matt Edmondson and Mollie King to host BBC Radio 1 weekend breakfast . BBC News . BBC . 26 October 2018 . 28 October 2018.
47. News: Chris Evans: Radio 2 breakfast DJ bids emotional farewell . BBC News . BBC . 24 December 2018 . 28 December 2018.
48. News: Zoe Ball to present Radio 2 Breakfast Show. 3 October 2018. BBC. 3 October 2018. BBC News.
49. News: Arielle Free to present new Radio 1 weekend early breakfast . BBC News . BBC . 29 July 2019 . 29 July 2019.
50. News: John Humphrys to host his final edition of Radio 4 Today programme . BBC News . BBC . 18 September 2019 . 18 September 2019.
51. News: Nicky Campbell praises co-host Rachel Burden on his last 5 Live Breakfast show. BBC News. 5 November 2021.
52. Web site: Rick Edwards joins Rachel Burden for BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast. 1 September 2021. 1 September 2021.
53. https://ontheradio.co.uk/2021/10/mornings-on-bbc-radio-5-live-are-about-to-change/ Mornings on BBC Radio 5 Live are about to change