UK

kmfm’s annual Give A Gift campaign has returned this year, inviting listeners and communities across Kent to help make Christmas special for children in need.

The appeal delivers toys and presents to children and young people spending Christmas in hospital, living in care, or facing difficult circumstances.
Now in its latest year, Give A Gift continues to grow, with kmfm once again teaming up with Stoner Motor Company to help spread festive cheer to more families than ever.
Last year, more than 16,000 toys were donated and distributed to 18 locations across the county, including children’s hospital wards, care homes, and local charities.
The station is calling on listeners to show the same generosity this December by donating new, unwrapped gifts suitable for children and teenagers.
A spokesperson for kmfm said the campaign reflects the kindness of Kent’s communities. “Every year we’re amazed by how many people take part and how many children’s faces light up because of a small act of giving. It really does make a difference.”
Collection points and details of how to get involved will be shared on air and online throughout the campaign.

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BBC World Service is increasing the amount of journalism produced in Africa as part of a shift to base more programmes nearer to the audiences they serve.

The broadcaster says the move will strengthen African storytelling and add regional perspectives to its global news coverage.
Newsday will begin a new co-presenting arrangement on 1 December, with a team established in Kenya and Anne Soy hosting from Nairobi alongside Rob Young and James Copnall in London.
The programme will continue to air each weekday with live coverage, interviews and reporting from correspondents.
Anne Soy said she was pleased to join the team in Nairobi and added that she looked forward to helping tell stories that matter to audiences across the region.
She has more than twenty years of experience reporting across Africa and joined the BBC in 2013, most recently working as Senior Africa Correspondent and Deputy Africa Editor.
Focus on Africa, the World Service’s main Africa-focused news podcast, will also move from London to Nairobi.
The daily podcast will relaunch on 2 December, including a Friday episode recorded for the BBC News Africa YouTube channel and hosted by Nkechi Ogbonna.
Nkechi Ogbonna said the programme has long offered listeners a trusted source of news and noted that the move to Nairobi will help the team stay connected to audiences while broadening its editorial reach.
The Focus on Africa TV programme, presented by Waihiga Mwaura, will remain a key part of the schedule but will be refreshed and fully produced in Nairobi, with Lagos also acting as a production hub.
Juliet Njeri, BBC Regional Director for Africa, said the changes underline a commitment to regional storytelling and the inclusion of African voices across the BBC’s international output.
The updates form part of wider changes to BBC News operations made this year, including a new structure built around six regional directors based outside the UK.

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Greg James has announced BBC Radio 1 will take its Big Weekend to Herrington Country Park in Sunderland this year.
The three-day event runs from Friday 22 May to Sunday 24 May, with around one hundred artists set to perform across multiple stages. With about eighty thousand people expected, the station says the festival will again focus on bringing major acts to places that do not often host events of this size.
The Big Weekend has previously taken artists such as Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Stormzy, Lana Del Rey, Ed Sheeran and Sam Fender to towns and cities around the UK, giving local audiences the chance to see global names up close.
Radio 1 is working with Sunderland City Council to deliver a safe and welcoming event. Greg James said the return to the North East feels special for him, adding that he “started my radio career there” and is looking forward to spending time in the area.
Aled Haydn Jones said the event will provide a platform for established names as well as new local artists. He said the station is keen to showcase talent from the region to listeners across the country.
Councillor Michael Mordey said hosting the festival will highlight Sunderland’s music scene and its Music City status. He said it will also bring wider benefits, including increased visitor numbers.
Further details, including headliners, the full line-up and how to access tickets, will be confirmed on Radio 1 in the coming months. The station will broadcast live from the site throughout the weekend, with sets available on Radio 1’s iPlayer channel and BBC Sounds.

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Two well-known northern broadcasters are returning to the airwaves as Nation Radio expands its local output in the North East and Yorkshire.

Steve Colman will host a new Saturday show on Nation Radio North East from 10am to 2pm, covering Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham and Darlington.
Paul “Griffo” Griffiths will present a similar show for listeners across Yorkshire on Sundays in the same time slot.
Steve, known for his years on Metro and Smooth, said he was delighted to reconnect with North East audiences, adding: “I’m so happy to be back on the radio in the North East and hope to reconnect with my many former listeners on the brilliant Nation Radio.”
Griffo, who has long been a familiar voice across Yorkshire, said he was thrilled to join the growing station: “They have a hugely talented team who create brilliant radio and they are growing in some significant local markets which is really exciting. I can’t wait to get started playing Yorkshire’s Best Variety of Hits.”

Nation Radio’s Group Programme Director Neil Greenslade said both presenters would bring valuable local experience to their regional audiences. He noted that the stations in the North East and Yorkshire have shown strong audience growth and that the addition of Steve and Griffo builds on that success.
Helen Nolan, Commercial Director for the North East and Yorkshire, said the pair’s arrival “marks an exciting new chapter” for Nation Radio, helping to “strengthen our position in the market and create even greater opportunities for local businesses and advertisers.”
Nation Radio North East is available on DAB Digital Radio across the region, on FM frequencies in Wearside, Durham and Darlington, and online or via smart speakers. Nation Radio Yorkshire can be heard on DAB, 99.8FM and online at nationplayer.com.

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Derby has a new local radio station with the launch of Derby ONE, marking the return of commercial radio to the city.
The station went live at 8am on Saturday with local presenter Elliot Holman hosting the Derby ONE Breakfast Show. The launch was broadcast from the newly refurbished Derby Market Hall, where the team spoke with traders, shoppers, and local businesses throughout the day.
Director Jeff Martin said: “It was a memorable day for the city. We were overwhelmed by the messages of support and it was wonderful to be in the Market Hall, such an iconic building.
“A city like Derby should have its own radio station, and we want to be part of celebrating everything happening here.”
Derby’s MPs also welcomed the station. Derby South MP Baggy Shanker said in a recorded message that “stations like Derby ONE help to keep our communities alive,” while Catherine Atkinson, MP for Derby North, told listeners she looks forward to hearing the station “amplify everything that makes our city a great place to live and work.”
Derby ONE can be heard online at derbyone.com and the station plans to join the city’s DAB line-up when it becomes available in 2026.

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Manchester Central Library is appealing for listeners to help complete its growing archive of historic Piccadilly Radio shows.

The city’s first commercial radio station went on air in April 1974, with Roger Day launching the service by playing the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations. Since last year, over 1,600 programmes have been digitised through a £99,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, preserving decades of local broadcasting history.
Many broadcasts, however, are still missing. The library is asking residents to check their cupboards, attics and cassette collections for home recordings of lost shows such as James Stannage’s late-night phone-ins, Susie Mathis and Dave Ward’s daytime programmes, Mike Shaft’s ‘Taking Care of Business’, and Stu Allan’s influential hip hop series ‘Bus Diss’.
Listeners can have their tapes digitised for free and returned once copied, ensuring these shows are preserved for future generations. The appeal coincides with the Piccadilly Radio Archive: Nobody Did It Better! exhibition, running at Manchester Central Library until 31 December 2025, which celebrates the voices that shaped Manchester’s radio scene from the 1970s onwards.
Councillor John Hacking said the project is “a chance for all of us to be part of preserving Manchester’s broadcasting history,” encouraging anyone with old tapes to contribute. Helen Featherstone from The National Lottery Heritage Fund added that “local radio holds a special place in people’s hearts,” and praised the project for inspiring future broadcasters.
The archive has also collaborated with the Manchester Digital Music Archive and the Greater Manchester Hip Hop Archive, offering young people workshops and training through ALL FM. Oral histories from Piccadilly Radio staff are also being recorded as part of the project.
Former listeners can contact the Library on archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk to share their recordings.

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