BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music will be making changes to their broadcast schedules from this weekend.
The changes are being made to ensure the stations can continue to provide a strong sense of community, solidarity and support to their listeners during the Coronavirus crisis.
A simplified schedule will be implemented which will see the length of a number of daytime and evening shows increase, with the priority being live shows.
The new Radio 2 schedule will come into effect from Saturday 4 April, with the 6 Music weekday changes from Monday 6 April, and will remain under review for the foreseeable future.
BBC Radio 2
Across weekdays from Monday 6 April, Sara Cox’s show will be extended by an hour (5-8pm). From Monday to Thursday, Jo Whiley and Trevor Nelson will each broadcast for four days – alternating each week – with an extended evening show (8-11pm), starting with Jo Whiley next week.
The four specialist music shows – The Blues Show With Cerys Matthews (Monday), The Jazz Show With Jamie Cullum (Tuesday), The Folk Show With Mark Radcliffe (broadcast from BBC MediaCity in Salford each Wednesday), and The Country Show With Bob Harris (Thursday) – will move to a later slot (11pm-midnight).
On Friday 10 April (Good Friday), At the Foot Of The Cross will be broadcast as planned (7-9pm), to be followed by Sounds Of The 80s With Gary Davies (9-11pm) and Sounds Of The 90s With Fearne Cotton (11pm-1am).
On Friday nights from 17 April, Tony Blackburn’s Golden Hour will move to the later time of 8-9pm, following Sara Cox’s three hour All Request Friday (5-8pm).
On Saturday nights between 8-10pm, a series of documentaries and specials – some new and some archive treasures – will air, featuring much-loved musicians and entertainers including Levi Roots, Jools Holland and Ricky Ross. Between 10pm-midnight, listeners can relive classic Craig Charles’ House Party Mixtape shows featuring the best in funk and soul.
Sunday nights will become a relaxing haven for music lovers. There will be further music documentaries and specials to share with our audience, featuring some of the world’s most popular artists such as The Carpenters, Kylie Minogue and Celine Dion (5-7pm).
Friday Night Is Music Night becomes Sunday Night Is Music Night (7-9pm), featuring some of the most popular performances from recent years (including Beverley Knight’s 25th Anniversary concert and Burt Bacharach performing with Joss Stone), followed by another chance to hear the brilliant, long-running popular series, The People’s Songs presented by Stuart Maconie (9-10pm).
Helen Thomas, Head of Content Commissioning, Radio 2 says: “I’d like to thank all the Radio 2 presenters and productions teams who are working extremely hard to ensure our output continues as we go through these unprecedented times together with our audience. We are now modifying our schedule as we need to prioritise our teams’ health in the coming weeks whilst continuing to broadcast.”
BBC Radio 2 schedule
Monday-Thursday
| 5-8pm | Sara Cox |
| 8-11pm | Week one: Jo Whiley Week two: Trevor Nelson |
| 11pm-midnight | Specialist music shows |
Friday
| 5-8pm | Sara Cox |
| 8-9pm | Tony Blackburn’s Golden Hour |
| 9-11pm | Sounds Of The 80s With Gary Davies |
| 11pm-1am | Sounds Of The 90s With Fearne Cotton |
Saturday
| 8-10pm | Documentaries and specials* |
Sunday
| 5-7pm | Documentaries and specials* |
| 7-9pm | Sunday Night Is Music Night |
| 9-10pm | The People’s Songs |
BBC Radio 6 Music
Each weekday from Monday 6 April, Chris Hawkins will continue to present his early breakfast show from BBC MediaCity in Salford, broadcasting from a later time (6-8.30am). Lauren Laverne will broadcast an extended show (8.30am-midday).
Mary Anne Hobbs and Shaun Keaveny will share the afternoon slot each week, with each presenter taking turns to broadcast (12-4pm), kicking off with Shaun on Monday 6 April. From Monday to Thursday, Craig Charles will take over at teatime (4-7pm) from BBC MediaCity in Salford; with Craig Charles’ Weekend Workout every Friday (4-7pm) to get listeners into the weekend groove.
Marc Riley and Gideon Coe continue to entertain audiences Monday through Thursday (7pm-midnight). And on Fridays there will be another chance to hear Cillian Murphy sharing his passion for music by taking listeners through his record collection (7-9pm), with Tom Ravenscroft in his regular slot (9pm-midnight).
Paul Rodgers, Head of Content Commissioning, BBC 6 Music says: “I’m proud of how the 6 Music production teams in London and Salford have pulled together in recent times like never before. We are making these changes to simplify the schedule to maintain and safeguard the resilience of the station’s presenters and productions teams at this time, and I encourage listeners to continue to be an active part of the 6 Music community.”
These changes are in addition to the previously announced weekend 6 Music schedule changes.
BBC Radio 6 Music schedule
Monday-Thursday
| 6-8.30am | Chris Hawkins |
| 8.30am-midday | Lauren Laverne |
| Midday-4pm | Week one: Shaun Keaveney Week two: Mary Anne Hobbs |
| 4-7pm | Craig Charles |
| 7-9pm | Marc Riley |
| 9pm-midnight | Gideon Coe |
Friday
| 4-7pm | Craig Charles’ Weekend Workout |
| 7-9pm | Cillian Murphy |
| 9pm-midnight | Tom Ravenscroft |