BBC Radio Derby

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BBC Radio Derby is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Derbyshire. It covers all but the northern tip of the county, and also serves eastern Staffordshire, mainly Uttoxeter and Burton upon Trent. It broadcasts from its studios in Derby on 104.5, 95.3 (Stanton Moor, near Bakewell) and 96.0 (Buxton) FM and 1116 (Burnaston Lane, next to the Toyota factory) AM. It also transmits its programmes over the internet, but does not broadcast on DAB Digital Radio.

Transmitters

The main 104.5 FM is the strongest signal, and comes a 200 ft transmitter on Drum Hill, 5 miles north of Derby, the other side of the A38 from Little Eaton. This signal used to come from the Sutton Coldfield television transmitter. You can get this signal over large parts of Leicestershire. It used to broadcast from the studio building on 94.2 FM. Although there is a transmitter for the north of the county, Radio Sheffield is also clearly heard around Chesterfield, which is a dormitory town for commuters working in Sheffield. Chesterfield listeners would be much at home listening to Peak FM or Radio Sheffield. The local commercial station is Ram FM 102.8 FM, which is owned by GCap Media. This also comes from the Drum Hill transmitter, as well as Saga 106.6 FM. Stanton Moor also has national radio frequencies and Peak FM on 102 FM (broadcast from Sheepbridge in Chesterfield on 107.4 FM). Buxton also has television and national radio frequencies, and High Peak Radio on 106.4 FM. There is no BBC DAB National transmitter anywhere in Derbyshire (or Nottinghamshire). The nearest BBC DAB transmitters are Sutton Coldfield and Waltham, some distance from Derby. Chesterfield listeners could pick up DAB from a transmitter in Sheffield (Tapton Hill).

The station began broadcasting officially on April 29, 1971, though it went on air two months earlier than planned to cover the bankruptcy of the local engineering firm Rolls-Royce. The station's logo used to be a ram (as many other organisations in Derby have).

Much of the output is speech based, featuring phone-ins, quizzes and news. The station is aimed at listeners over 45 years of age. After 7pm each weekday, the BBC local radios in the East Midlands coincide, until 1 am, when it becomes Radio Five Live.

BBC Radio Derby broadcasts match commentaries from local soccer/football teams; especially the Rams (Derby County), the Spireites (Chesterfield F.C.) and the Brewers (Burton Albion). The text number is 07786 201045.

Current Presenters

The current presenters at BBC Radio Derby are:

Dylan Roys - (as BBC Local Radio in the East Midlands - from Lincoln) Weekdays 5-6am.
Andy Whittaker - Weekdays 6-9am and Saturdays 9am-12pm.
Shane O'Connor - Weekdays 9am-12pm and Saturdays 6-9am.
Aleena Naylor - Weekdays 12-2pm and Sundays 12-1pm.
Alex Trelinski - Weekdays 2-5pm and Sundays 9am-12pm.
Ross Fletcher - Weekdays 5-7pm and Saturdays 2-6pm.
Sally Pepper - Saturdays 12-2pm.
Nicholas Henshall - Sundays 6-9am.
Chris Baird - Sundays 1-4pm.
Mike Carey - Sundays 4-6pm.

Alex Trelinski took over from Paul MacKenzie in January 2006. Paul was one of the station's most popular presenters, and his departure was met with an angry reaction from large numbers of listeners with his exit dominating the letters page of the Derby Evening Telegraph for the weeks following his departure. The reason behind his departure has never been revealed by him or the station - though many listeners believe that it was not his decision to leave.

Chris Baird (b.1948) is the station's second longest-serving presenter - joining in 1979 (Richard Sykes is first, however he is rarely heard on the station's output nowadays due to commitments with the station's [BBC Bus]). He has presented 'The Greatest Hits Show' on Sunday afternoons for many years - this show concentrates on music from the past; particularly the 1960s; and many of the jingles used on this show are reminiscent of the ones used on offshore radio stations of this period.

Chris can also be heard reporting on weekday editions of the Breakfast Show, where he drives around the output area in the BBC Radio Derby radio car in order to carry out live reports from locations relating to items in the News.

External links

BBC Local Radio stations
BBC Radio Berkshire	BBC Radio Bristol	BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
BBC Radio Cleveland	BBC Radio Cornwall	BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Radio Cumbria	BBC Radio Derby	BBC Radio Devon
BBC Essex	BBC Radio Gloucestershire	BBC Radio Manchester
BBC Radio Guernsey	BBC Hereford and Worcester	BBC Radio Humberside
BBC Radio Jersey	BBC Radio Kent	BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Leeds	BBC Radio Leicester	BBC Radio Lincolnshire
BBC London 94.9	BBC Radio Merseyside	BBC Radio Newcastle
BBC Radio Norfolk	BBC Radio Northampton	BBC Radio Nottingham
BBC Radio Oxford	BBC Radio Sheffield	BBC Radio Shropshire
BBC Radio Solent	BBC Somerset Sound	BBC Southern Counties Radio
BBC Radio Stoke	BBC Radio Suffolk	BBC Radio Swindon
BBC Three Counties Radio	BBC WM	BBC Radio Wiltshire
BBC Radio York

Former BBC Local Radio stations
BBC Radio Brighton	BBC Radio Bedfordshire	BBC Radio Durham
BBC GLR	BBC GMR	BBC Radio London

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