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.

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. 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.
• 21 June – Emap buys Scottish Radio Holdings.

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.
• 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.

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.

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.
• 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.

November

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

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

Deaths

• 2 January – Cyril Fletcher, 91, comic monologuist
• 6 March – Tommy Vance, 63, disc jockey
• 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))
• 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