BBC Radio Berkshire
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BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on 94.6 (Henley), 95.4 (Windsor), 104.1 (Hannington, north Hampshire) and 104.4 (Broad St Mall, Reading) FM from its studios in Caversham Park in Reading, Berkshire. The 104.1 FM signal is the strongest by far. The station began on 26th Januuary 1991, starting as a sister station of Radio Oxford. Due to financial cutbacks, it was merged with Radio Oxford on 9th April 1996 to become BBC Thames Valley and featured Martin Kelner, who now broadcasts irreverently on Radio Leeds. Separate breakfast shows for Reading and Oxford began. On 13th February 2000, the two stations became separate once again, although shared several programmes until September 2003.
The Hannington transmitter, on Cottington Hill (close to Watership Down) also carries television channels and 2-Ten FM on 102.9FM. The 104.1FM signal can be heard over most of Hampshire, certainly more than Radio Solent. The Broad St Mall transmitter carries 2-Ten FM on 97FM, and Radio Berkshire since 1991, although the BBC call it Fountain House, the name of the building it is fixed to. Henley broadcasts 2-Ten FM on 103.4FM.
The station essentially covers the M4 corridor, for better or (often) worse. The words 'M4' and 'hold-ups' or 'queues' go together like peaches and cream. The main morning show from 9am is hosted by Andrew Peach, who has conscientiously de-brummified his Birmingham twang. He shares his Saturday morning show with Radio Oxford, at least before Radio Oxford went all commercial and glitzy, and can be heard on Radio 2 on the weekend as a continuity announcer and newsreader.
Maggie Philbin shares the breakfast show until 9am with Portsmouth University-educated Jim Cathcart. The station is quite Reading-centric, and covers much sporting action from Reading FC at the Madejski Stadium, also known as the 'Mad Stad'.
In the evening, after 7 pm, all BBC radio stations in the South and South-East join up. The evening show used to be presented by Belfast-accented Sue Dougan, but now its Charlie Crocker, and comes from Tunbridge Wells, home of Radio Kent.
Newsreaders on Radio Bristol have been known to pronounce Berkshire phonetically as Birkshire.
External links
- BBC Radio Berkshire (http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/radioberkshire)
- Media UK - BBC Radio Berkshire (http://www.mediauk.com/radio/299)
- Andrew Peach (http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/radioberkshire/andrewpeach.shtml)
- History of local radio in Berkshire. (http://www.geocities.com/thehotw/aircheck_UKBerkshire.htm)
- Old BBC Thames Valley jingle. (http://www.tvradiobits.i12.com/RadioTVFM.rm)
- Old jingle. (http://www.tvradiobits.i12.com/RadioBerkshire.rm)
- Broad St Mall transmitter in Reading. (http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/broad-street-mall.asp)
- Hannington transmitter. (http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/hannington/index.asp)Template:UK-bcast-stub