2005 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 2005.

Events

January

• 17 January – 268 radio stations, including national stations Classic FM and Virgin Radio, join together to broadcast UK Radio Aid, a twelve-hour event to raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

February

• No events

March

• No events

April

• No events

May

• 23 May – As BBC staff stage a one-day strike over announced job cuts, Terry Wogan crosses the picket line to present his show.^[1]

June

• 5–10 June – BBC Radio 3 clears its airwaves for almost an entire week to broadcast the music of a single composer – Ludwig van Beethoven.^[2] This is followed up at the end of the year with ten days of non-stop Johann Sebastian Bach which is broadcast in the run-up to Christmas.^[3]
• 21 June – Emap buys Scottish Radio Holdings.^[4]

July

• 7 July – 7 July 2005 London bombings: Four terrorist suicide bombings strike London's public transport system during the morning rush hour (killing 56), receiving extensive media coverage. The BBC sticks with initial reports of a power surge on the London Underground until actual events can be corroborated.^[5]
• 25 July – London's 102.2 Smooth FM signs a three-year deal with Chelsea F.C. to provide exclusive match coverage of the club's games until the end of the 2007–08 season.^[6]

August

• No events

September

• 8–12 September – BBC Radio 5 Live devotes its daytime schedule to broadcast extensive live coverage of the deciding Ashes cricket match.^[7]

October

• c. 18 October – Pirate radio stations broadcasting to the Handsworth and Lozells districts of Birmingham, most notably Hot 92, discuss an alleged rape, a contributory factor in the 2005 Birmingham riots.^[8]
• 31 October – Actress Mary Wimbush dies, aged 81, at The Mailbox studios of BBC Birmingham shortly after completing work on a recording session for The Archers.^[9]

November

• 25 November – The UK's first Islamic radio station, Islam Radio, is established in Bradford, West Yorkshire.^[10]

December

• No events

Station debuts

• 21 February – Chill
• 7 June – 102.2 Smooth Radio
• 3 October – KMFM Ashford
• 1 November – Aston FM
• 25 November – Islam Radio
• 5 December – 102.6 & 106.8 Durham FM

Programme debuts

• 7 January – Ed Reardon's Week on BBC Radio 4 (2005–Present)
• 4 August – The Ape That Got Lucky on BBC Radio 4 (4–25 August 2005)
• 15 September – Another Case of Milton Jones on BBC Radio 4 (2005–2010)
• 3 October – The Dream Ticket with Nemone on BBC 6 Music (2005–2006)

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

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

1950s

• The Archers (1950–Present)
• The Today Programme (1957–Present)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• It's Been a Bad Week (1999–2006)
• Jonathan Ross (1999–2010)

2000s

• Dead Ringers (2000–2007, 2014–Present)
• BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (2000–Present)
• Sounds of the 70s (2000–2008, 2009–Present)
• Big John @ Breakfast (2000–Present)
• Parsons and Naylor's Pull-Out Sections (2001–2007)
• Jammin' (2001–2008)
• Go4It (2001–2009)
• The Jo Whiley Show (2001–2011)
• Kermode and Mayo's Film Review (2001–2022)
• The Big Toe Radio Show (2002–2011)
• A Kist o Wurds (2002–Present)
• The Day the Music Died (2003–2007)
• Fighting Talk (2003–Present)
• Jeremy Vine (2003–Present)
• Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music (2004–2006)
• Trevor's World of Sport (2004–2007)
• The Chris Moyles Show (2004–2012)
• Annie Mac (2004–2021)
• Elaine Paige on Sunday (2004–Present)

Ending this year

• 18 May – Puzzle Panel (1998–2005)
• 29 September – Jane Gazzo's Dream Ticket (2004–2005)
• October – Westway (1997–2005)
• 18 October – Think the Unthinkable (2001–2005)
• 9 November – Whispers (2003–2005)

Closing this year

Date	Station	Debut
27 May	102.2 Jazz FM	1990[11]

Deaths

• 2 January – Cyril Fletcher, 91, comic monologuist
• 6 March – Tommy Vance, 63, disc jockey^[12]
• 19 March – John Ebdon, 81, radio broadcaster, Graecophile, author and director of the London Planetarium
• 7 November – Harry Thompson, 45, comedy producer, lung cancer
• 19 November – John Timpson, 77, news presenter (Today (BBC Radio 4))^[13]
• 20 November – Jonathan James-Moore, 59, former BBC Radio head of light entertainment, cancer
• 21 December – Hallam Tennyson, 85, radio producer (great-grandson of Alfred, Lord Tennyson), suspected murder

References

1. O'Carroll, Lisa; Deans, Jason & Day, Julia (23 May 2005). "TV stars: why we crossed BBC picket line". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
2. Radio 3 clears the air for Beethoven.
3. "Christmas with Bach". The Guardian. London. 12 December 2005. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022.
4. Brook, Stephen (21 June 2005). "Emap snaps up Scottish Radio Holdings". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
5. Wells, Matt (12 September 2005). "Interview with Helen Boaden". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 April 2014. Some of our competitors talked immediately of 90 dead. They talked about three bus bombs. That was off a range of various wire services and it was complete speculation and we wouldn't go with that. We would be careful – we would try to check things out.
6. "Chelsea in Smooth FM broadcast deal". Campaign Live. 25 July 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
7. "Cricket mania sweeps 5 Live". The Guardian. 2 September 2005. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023.
8. Muir, Hugh; Butt, Riazat (24 October 2005). "A rumour, outrage and then a riot. How tension in a Birmingham suburb erupted". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
9. "Mary Wimbush obituary". The Times. London. 2 November 2005. Retrieved 21 December 2015. {{cite news}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
10. Casci, Mark (24 November 2005). "Islamic radio to be launched". Muslim News. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
11. "Goodbye 102.2 JAZZ FM". Radio Today. 28 May 2005. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
12. "DJ Tommy Vance dies after stroke". BBC News. 6 March 2005. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
13. "Broadcaster Timpson dies aged 77". BBC. 19 November 2005. Retrieved 2 November 2019.