2004 in British radio

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This is a list of events in British radio during 2004.

Events

January

• 1 January – Ofcom takes over the regulation of British radio from The Radio Authority.
• 5 January –
  • Lesley Douglas succeeds Jim Moir as Controller of Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music.
  • Chris Moyles takes over the breakfast show on Radio 1.
• 6 January – The BBC announces that veteran broadcaster Barbara Sturgeon will leave Radio Kent at the end of the month to pursue other projects after two decades at the station.

February

• 10 February – Dave Lincoln, a well-known radio personality in Northwest England, and former Radio 1 presenter Andy Peebles will head the line-up when 100.4 Jazz FM is relaunched as 100.4 Smooth FM in March.
• 12 February – 100.7 Heart FM presenter Tushar Makwana dies in hospital following a hit-and-run incident during a botched robbery attempt at his home in Birmingham a few days earlier. Four teenagers were later convicted of his murder and given 10-year jail terms.
• 20 February – BBC Radio 4 airs the final Letter from America. The weekly 15-minute programme ran for 2,869 shows from 24 March 1946, making it the longest-running speech radio programme in history.

March

• 1 March –
  • Johnnie Walker returns to his Radio 2 drivetime show following a nine-month break while he received treatment for cancer.
  • 100.4 Jazz FM is relaunched as 100.4 Smooth FM.
• 26 March – Mark and Lard (Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley) present their final show on BBC Radio 1 after 11 years and one failed eight-month stint on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

April

• 2 April – Chris Tarrant presents his final Breakfast show on London's 95.8 Capital FM after 17 years in the chair. He is succeeded by Johnny Vaughan.
• 10–17 April – Pirate BBC Essex broadcasts for the first time. Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the launch of Radio Caroline, it broadcasts on the MW frequencies of BBC Essex. This was repeated in 2007, 2009 and 2017.

May

• May – Saga 105.7FM presenter Brendan Kearney is sacked from the station for using an office computer to access pornography. The incident had occurred at BBC Radio Cleveland where Kearney was the breakfast show presenter. Bosses reprimanded him, and after he quit the station alerted Saga who initially suspended him while an investigation was conducted.

June

• 6 June – Simon Hirst and Katy Hill become co-hosts of the national commercial chart show Hit40uk taking over from 'Doctor' Neil Fox
• 7 June – Scott Mills takes over as presenter of the drivetime show on BBC Radio 1.

July

• No events.

August

• 28 August – Pick of the Pops ends on BBC Radio 2 although bank holiday editions of the show continue to be broadcast.

September

• 20 September – Mark Damazer succeeds Helen Boaden as controller of BBC Radio 4.

October

• No events.

November

• No events.

December

• December – Les Ross leaves Birmingham's Saga 105.7 FM following differences with station bosses. He claimed the station management was guilty of sending "nannying" e-mails which were turning him into a "robo-jock".

Station debuts

• 1 March – 100.4 Smooth FM
• 4 April – High Peak Radio
• 1 May – KMFM Extra
• 10 June – Kerrang! 105.2
• 13 June – 97.1 Radio Carmarthenshire
• 14 July – 97.5 Scarlet FM
• 7 September – Saga 105.2 FM

Closing this year

• 13 February – 100.4 Jazz FM (1994–2004)

Programme debuts

• 5 January – The Chris Moyles Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 1 (2004–2012)
• 19 February – Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music on BBC Radio 4 (2004–2006)
• 5 July – Jane Gazzo's Dream Ticket on BBC 6 Music (2004–2005)
• 29 July – Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 (2004–Present)
• 20 August – Trevor's World of Sport on BBC Radio 4 (2004–2007)
• 6 September – Elaine Paige on Sunday on BBC Radio 2 (2004–Present)

Continuing 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)
• 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

• 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)
• Westway (1997–2005)
• Puzzle Panel (1998–2005)
• Drivetime with Johnnie Walker (1998–2006)
• Sunday Night at 10 (1998–2013)
• In Our Time (1998–Present)
• Material World (1998–Present)
• Scott Mills (1998–Present)
• The Now Show (1998–Present)
• It's Been a Bad Week (1999–2006)
• Jonathan Ross (1999–2010)
• Steve Wright in the Afternoon (1981–1993, 1999–Present)

2000s

• Dead Ringers (2000–2007, 2014–Present)
• BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (2000–Present)
• Big John @ Breakfast (2000–Present)
• Think the Unthinkable (2001–2005)
• Parsons and Naylor's Pull-Out Sections (2001–2007)
• Jammin' (2001–2008)
• Go4It (2001–2009)
• The Jo Whiley Show (2001–2009)
• Kermode and Mayo's Film Review (2001–Present)
• The Big Toe Radio Show (2002–2011)
• A Kist o Wurds (2002–Present)
• Whispers (2003–2005)
• The Day the Music Died (2003–2007)
• Fighting Talk (2003–Present)
• Jeremy Vine (2003–Present)

Ending this year

• 3 February – Concrete Cow (2002–2004)
• 6 February – Ring Around the Bath (2003–2004)
• 20 February – Letter from America (1946–2004)
• 24 May – Elephants to Catch Eels (2003–2004)
• 1 July – The Dream Ticket with Janice Long (2002–2004)
• 29 September – The 99p Challenge (1998–2004)

Deaths

• 12 February – Tushar Makwana, 37, award-winning Birmingham based radio presenter
• 30 March – Alistair Cooke, 95, journalist, television personality and broadcaster, longtime presenter of Letter from America
• 30 March – Hubert Gregg, 89, BBC broadcaster
• 13 April – Caron Keating, 41, radio and television presenter
• 25 October – John Peel, 65, broadcaster and journalist
• 27 November – John Dunn, 70, broadcaster