New York, NY (Top40 Charts) BBC
Radio 2, the UK's most listened to radio station with a weekly audience of 14.36m, presents highlights for Winter 2021, including some of the UK's best-loved entertainers and authors making their
Radio 2 debuts. All shows will also be available on BBC Sounds.
Helen Thomas, Head of
Radio 2, says: "This winter, we're looking forward to keeping our listeners warm with a treasure trove of gems, providing a distinctive and diverse range of programming for early 2021. From Dr Rangan Chatterjee teaching us how to live a calmer, healthier life, to taking a journey in
Music Without Borders with the wonderful Jack Savoretti, and shows with Cat Deeley, Shirley Ballas and Barry Humphries,
Radio 2 has something for everyone."
Radio 2 today launches a listener vote to discover the nation's all-time favourite song from a musical. From 12pm on Friday 18 December to 12pm on Monday 11 January, listeners can take their pick from a long list of 50 classics spanning nine decades, casting their vote at bbc.co.uk/radio2. The results will feature in a very special weekend of programming -
Radio 2 Celebrates Musicals - in January, further details of which will be announced in the New Year. A Top 20 countdown of the vote will be revealed by Elaine Paige in her show on Sunday 31 January (1pm-3pm). In the programme, she will play all the songs and tell some wonderful stories about the shows and movies they featured in.
Elaine Paige says: "Like me, millions of
Radio 2's listeners are huge fans of musicals - whether on stage or screen - so please get voting for your favourite song and I can't wait to play the Top 20 on my show, Elaine Paige On Sunday, in January!"
The shortlist for
Radio 2's all-time greatest song from a musical has been created by an esteemed panel of musicals experts, including American musical theatre actor Marisha Wallace, Baz Bamigboye (Daily Mail), Sita McIntosh (WhatsOnStage), and
Radio 2's very own Elaine Paige. The full list of 50 titles - and full terms and conditions - go live at 12pm at bbc.co.uk/radio2 and includes All That Jazz (Chicago), One More Day (Les Miserables), Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat (Guys & Dolls), Somewhere (West Side Story), The Room Where It Happens (Hamilton), Let It Go (Frozen), Send In The Clowns (A
Little Night Music), Memory (Cats) and many more.
Tune in to Elaine Paige on Sunday 31 January to find out which song will officially have the honour of being named the
Radio 2 listeners' favourite song from the musicals!
After 2020, health and wellbeing has never been more important to
Radio 2's audience across the UK. In late January, Dr Rangan Chatterjee (Sundays, 10pm-midnight and on BBC Sounds) launches a brand new show. Rangan Chatterjee (pictured top left) is a doctor, bestselling author, presenter and podcaster. He empowers people all over the world to lead happier, healthier lives, and now he's joining
Radio 2. Broadcasting from the BBC studios in Salford, he will fuse inspirational conversations with a positive musical soundtrack to help listeners plan their week - and life - ahead with positivity and purpose.
Dr Rangan Chatterjee says: "I'm thrilled to be joining the
Radio 2 family. In my brand new show I'm hoping to bring some wonderful well-being, calmness, great guests and the best music to Sunday nights as we all prepare for the week ahead. 2020 has been such a challenging year for us all, so I'm looking forward to speaking to, and hearing from, the
Radio 2 audience about how they live their lives, as well as giving them help and support on how they can have a happier and healthier 2021."
A variety of well-known voices will be joining Rangan, as he draws on his experience as a GP and a father of two to offer practical health and wellbeing help for better everyday life. Already host of the phenomenally popular podcast, Feel Better, Live More, with hundreds of thousands of listeners a week and a social media following of over 400,000 devotees, Rangan can't wait to bring his honest and easy-to-understand advice to
Radio 2 listeners. As well as the on-air programme, audiences can hear extended interviews exclusively on BBC Sounds.
An Audio Always production.
On Saturday 2 January, Cat Deeley makes her
Radio 2 debut (10am-1pm) in this live show jam packed full of great chat and fantastic music, direct from Wogan House. Joining her is our favourite car share, he's won several Baftas, toured the length and breadth of the country, raised millions for charity and sold more DVDs than Avatar and Mama Mia combined. You've guessed it, he's
Peter Kay and he's Cat Deeley's special guest on her show!
Cat says: "We're a radio house, so
Radio 2 is constantly on in the kitchen, all day, every day, even when we were in LA! Although, due to the time difference, the line-up was slightly different. We loved having a Dance Devotion With Ana Matronic dinner on a Friday night, listening to Liza Tarbuck post-Farmers Market on a Saturday and waking up to
Sounds Of The 70s on a Sunday. We don't miss a moment of music, chat and news, but now we are based here, we begin our day in sync with Zoe instead of starting with Steve!
She continues: "I'm thrilled to be making my
Radio 2 debut on Saturday 2 January. This time of year always fill us with love, hope and optimism, even if it looks a little different this year. We may not gather in the same ways or in the same places, but we are always together in our hearts.
"Gather round the radio and tune in to hear me chatting to some fantastic guests and playing the best music. But the thing I'm most excited about is chatting to the listeners. I've missed casual conversations, laughing with new friends I've just met, putting the world to rights with acquaintances that brighten your day and connecting with people that don't stay strangers for long so let's start the year as we mean to go on… together."
And from Saturday 9 January until February, Nicki Chapman will be sitting in the Saturday morning hotseat from 10am-1pm before Claudia Winkleman takes over.
Produced by BBC Audio
From Saturday 2 January (9pm-10pm) for four weeks, Jack Savoretti's
Music Without Borders takes listeners on a musical voyage, delving into the music of the singer-songwriters from the 50s to the present day that redefined the musical landscape and popular culture from all over the world.
Musician and singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti was born in the UK to Italian and half German/Polish parents, moving to live in Switzerland when he was seven years old. Jack became acquainted with all types of music, and his travels as a teenager exposed him to a wealth of music past and present.
Jack focuses on how songwriters use culture and language to shape their amazing songs, taking in the folk tales from Sweden's
First Aid Kit and the lavish poetry of France's Charles Aznavour. When Jack focuses on The Artist as a means of understanding their language and culture, he marvels at Iceland with Sigur Rós, and the vibrancy of Mali with Amadou and Mariam.
Jack explores his favourite international soundtracks, revelling in the carnival of
Celia Cruz from Amores Perros, the mesmerizing guitar of Gustavo Santaolalla from The
Motorcycle Diaries, the dramatic orchestrations of Ennio Morricone and more. Jack discovers the roots of magnificent "songs that you think you know" from all over the world, playing their overseas relatives, some of which were hits in different countries, in different languages before being translated. These are the songs that Jack adores from the likes of Seu Jorge, Pino Donaggio, Umberto Tozzi, and more.
Jack says: "Hosting my own radio show has long been a big aspiration of mine and thanks to
Radio 2, who throughout my career has shown me so much support, I can now bring you
Music Without Borders. A show where listeners will be taken on a musical journey not limited by genre or geography. We will play music from all corners of the world that tell unique stories of our infinitely rich musical heritage. You might know the music but do you know where it really comes from!?"
A Listen production
Top Brass returns to
Radio 2 for a new four-part series on Sunday nights from 3rd January (9pm-10pm) . Brass virtuoso
James Morrison introduces a huge range of brass music from across the globe.
Across this new series,
James plays music by the very best brass musicians in the world:
Big Band from Tommy Dorsey, Stan Kenton, the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, Urbie Green, Wayne Bergeron, Tom Kubis,
Bobby Shad and the Bad Men, Airmen Of Note, Louis Dowdeswell, and Paul Cacia
Pop and Rock covers from the
Youngblood Brass Band, Oompah Brass, Brass Funkeys, Brass Délirium, and Old Dirty Brasstards
Jazz from Wynton Marsalis, Roy Eldridge, Miles Davis, Julius Watkins, John Allred, Mark Nightingale, Walter White, Maynard Ferguson, and The New York Jazz Repertory Company
Larger ensembles such as the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Venezuelan Brass Ensemble, and Superbrass
Inventive arrangements for brass by Mnozil Brass, Lucky Chops, and Fanfare Ciocarlia
And brilliant original music performed by Don't Problem, the Gangbé Brass Band, First Brass, Mansion Of Snakes, Three Bean Salad, and the McNasty Brass Band.
James says: "From small group jazz to classic big band, to modern New Orleans-style street bands playing heavy funk, I'll be showcasing the full glory of all things brass across my new
Radio 2 series for brass lovers of all ages."
A Ping Productions production
From Monday 4 January,
Radio 2's early breakfast show, hosted by
Vanessa Feltz, will be starting one hour earlier, to run from 4am - 6.30am.
Vanessa says: "When
Radio 2 asked me to extend my show I was thrilled! It's a real privilege to spend such intimate time with the UK's early birds - and they continue to fascinate and astound us with their messages. We're particularly delighted to accompany our superstar key workers with many more fascinating Words of the Day and dazzling Jolly Good Fellows!"
A Listen production
There's a new feel to the Jo Whiley show for 2020! Each Monday -
Thursday (7pm-9pm), Jo brings her Shiny Happy Playlist, 30 minutes of feel-good music from 7pm-7.30pm to soundtrack listeners' weekday evening. She'll also be introducing the
Radio 2 Culture Club, a one-stop-shop full of entertainment recommendations. And Jo's regular film and TV critics,
James King and Emma Bullimore, are joined by new voices for 2020, including Candice Braithwaite talking books.
Jo will continue to handpick music from all genres of the music spectrum, from vintage nuggets to new gems, and showcasing live music and chat from new and established artists in her regular Sofa Session, including live performances from artists such as Zero 7,
Imelda May and Sam Fender.
Jo says: "I'm really excited about some great new elements coming to the show in January 2021. I'll be kicking off each night with a back-to-back playlist of my favourite uplifting tunes, we're launching the
Radio 2
Culture Club for all your entertainment needs, with author Candice Braithwaite talking books, joining our regular experts on TV, films, podcasts and more. And as always, all our brilliant listeners - keep contacting the show to let us know what you're listening to, watching and doing!"
A BBC Audio production
On Saturday 9 January Strictly Come Dancing's head judge Shirley Ballas by takes over from Liza Tarbuck for one night only (6-8pm). Shirley will inject some sparkle into your Saturday evening as only she knows how... with some special guests and some of her favourite songs to lift your spirits this January.
Shirley says: "As a huge fan of
Radio 2, I leapt at the chance to get behind the mic again. I'll be playing tracks that hold very special memories for me, so I hope you will join me."
A Somethin' Else production
The
Radio 2 Book Club, now in its tenth year on the network, will be moving to a primetime daytime slot. From January, Steve Wright In The Afternoon (2pm-5pm) will be the home of the
Radio 2 Book Club, where he will feature the best new fiction and non-fiction titles each month, champion debut authors, celebrate popular writers, with some joining as guests on the show. Across the past decade over 250 titles books have been featured including from authors including JK Rowling, Robert Harris, Angie Thomas, Helen Fielding, John Boyne,
David Mitchell and Maggie O'Farrell.
Steve says: "Books have boomed in lockdown, with thousands of people rediscovering the joy of reading, so it's great news that the
Radio 2 Book Club will move to afternoons where it will get the full bells and whistles Big Show treatment!"
A BBC Audio production
In February Barry Humphries returns with his fifth four-part series of his vintage music show. Barry's Forgotten Musical Masterpieces is packed full of culturally thrilling songs from the first half of the 20th century, in the form of inflexible shellac discs pressed in the early 20th century. He transports listeners back to a time of royal scandals, global pandemics, panic buying and European hostility. "Thank goodness we live in less turbulent times," says Barry.
Featured artists include Lord Caresser's Edward VIII, Marion Harris' Jazz Baby, Isham Jones' Life Begins When You're in Love, Van Philips' Goodbye to All That, Elsie Carlise's
Little White Lies, Jack Hylton's Why Doesn't Someone Tell Me These Things?, Marlene Dietrich's Wo ist der Mann?, Noel Coward's Forbidden Fruit performed by
Daniel Massey, and Peggy Hill with Was I?
Barry says: "I'm delighted to be back on the wireless with my new four-part series for BBC
Radio 2. Of all the things I do, this is my favourite. I'm currently luxury-yacht-sitting for my friend Dame Edna. The Ocean Widow is moored just off the coast of Skye and I've rigged up a kind of alternative 'Radio Caroline'. Yet, instead of broadcasting the sound of the future, 'Radio Phyllis' brings listeners reassuring songs from of the past in the form of inflexible shellac discs, played at a speed of 78 r.p.m. I've only been granted the use of Dame Edna's yacht because she's in South America, plumping up her little Mexican Love Nest. She's helping her new flame work through some family issues."
A Strauss House Productions production
Also in February, as part of the BBC's Winter Comedy Season,
Radio 2's Winter Funny Fortnight will feature a raft of new pilots including a new sitcom set in Colonial
India (written by Anuvab Pal), a half-hour stand-up special from rising star Kiri Pritchard McLean, and a sketch show from Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated act, The Delightful Sausage, featuring BBC Caroline Aherne Bursary recipient Amy Gledhill.
