UK

GB News has announced details of a new schedule for 2025 as two presenters depart.

Mark Dolan and Isabel Webster have left, making way for the new line-up next month.
Mark Dolan made a statement saying: “GB News have made the decision to permanently relieve me of my duties at the channel. I will speak publicly about this in due course.”
Andrew Doyle has also stepped down from the schedule but will continue as a contributor to the channel.
Ellie Costello will now co-host GBN Breakfast five days a week, presenting alongside Eamonn Holmes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and with Stephen Dixon on Thursday and Friday. Stephen and Anne Diamond will continue to co-present GB News Breakfast at Weekends.
As a new, permanent addition to GB News, Miriam Cates will continue to host Dewbs and Co every other Friday, as well as programmes across GB News’ daytime schedule.
Ben Leo will be presenting a new look show, Ben Leo Tonight, on Saturday and Sunday nights. He will also continue to co-host Britain’s Newsroom on a Friday.
Author, political commentator and pollster Professor Matthew Goodwin will join GB News as a permanent presenter in 2025, presenting State of the Nation on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night. Jacob Rees Mogg will continue as the show’s host on Monday and Tuesday.
Comedian Josh Howie, a regular host on GB News’ late night news-review show, Headliners, will become the new presenter of Free Speech Nation on Sunday evenings between 7-9pm.
Commenting on the roles, Ben Briscoe, Head Of Programming and Talent on GB News, said: “2024 has been a truly fantastic year for us. Not only are we regularly beating the other established news channels, but we are also making inroads against the big public serving broadcasters terrestrial channels. Our initiatives will allow us to build on this success with a renewed focus and ambition.”

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The BBC World Service is to offer enhanced services to listeners across the country as local media and digital services are disrupted.

Broadcasting news and information in Arabic, the service will air BBC News Arabic bulletins throughout the day including the BBC News Arabic’s World at One and BBC News Arabic’s Newsnight.
It will also feature packages from the Gaza Lifeline service and contributions from correspondents such as Feras Kilani as well as the BBC’s wealth of reporters based across the region.
There will also be an English offer on the network, curated from World Service English, for those Syrians who speak the language.
Jonathan Munro, Global Director, BBC News, says: “As we have all been watching, listening to and reading about the dramatic changes that have swept through Syria, the Syrian population have been left without essential access to reliable and independent news about the events taking place.
“The BBC World Service’s enhanced services will bring them the latest breaking news and analysis from Syria, the Middle East and the rest of the world.”
The Syrian radio network will go out on medium wave, 720kHz and 639kHz, and on 93.0 FM.

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DC Thomson is rebranding Kingdom FM as Original 106 giving the company one radio brand across Aberdeen, Fife and Tayside.

Kingdom FM has been operating in Fife for over 25 years, and broadcasts on 95.2, 96.1, 96.6, 105.4 and 106.3 FM.
It will continue to have local news and travel, along with split ads.
There will be no changes to programming for listeners in Aberdeen, with Claire and Pete continuing their Original 106 Aberdeen breakfast show, followed by Martin Ingram, Craig Lumsden and Lachlan Mackenzie.
Dave and Vanessa from Kingdom FM Breakfast will continue with their breakfast show in Fife, and extend it to Tayside.
Dave Connor: “Being a born and bred Fifer and one of the first presenters on Kingdom FM, I’m excited to be part of this latest evolution of the station and expand our Dave and Vanessa breakfast show into Tayside.
“We’re committed to continuing to celebrate Fife, still being locally based at our studios in Kirkcaldy, and we look forward to welcoming listeners in Dundee and Perth into our radio family.”
Robin Galloway, Group Head of Presentation at station owners DC Thomson, said: “The Original 106 expansion comes at the perfect time for other parts of Scotland to experience the magic of the Original 106 brand.
“I’d like to thank the Kingdom FM team for what they have achieved over the past 26 years and I’m delighted that our award-winning breakfast show team of Dave and Vanessa will be moving over to Original 106.
“Original 106 has cemented its position as number one in the market with quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year increases over the last 12 months.
“We now have over 90,000 weekly listeners in Aberdeen and the North East enjoying great chat, on-air laughs and fun competitions.”
The new service also has a new logo, as seen above.

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Former Metro Radio presenter Mark Seaman is returning to the radio in the North east on Christmas Day.

Mark, who presented on Metro from 1979 to 1984, then went on to work for other stations across the country including GWR Group and Premier Radio before joining the BBC.
He will be presenting the afternoon show on Christmas Day on the Hospital and Community station Radio Tyneside.
Mark said: “I am delighted to being back on the radio in the North East as part of Radio Tyneside’s festive line up. I remember my many happy years working for Metro Radio and it will be nice to be back on air.”
You can hear Mark between 3.00pm and 5.00pm Christmas Day. Radio Tyneside broadcasts on 93.6fm, on DAB, online across Newcastle and Gateshead.

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East Sussex community radio station Seahaven FM has been saved from closure.
The service announced it would close on January 10th 2025 due to a lack of funding.
But now the station says it has had an overwhelming amount of support to keep it going.
Station Manager Nick Mallinson says: “It’s been a roller-coaster ride in the last few weeks. We have received an overwhelming number of supportive calls and messages from listeners.
“They do not want to lose the company of our local presenters, the wide range of music from across eight decades and the useful local information.
“Local people and organisations have also donated generously on our Local Giving page. Some are choosing to donate regular amounts which will help our cashflow throughout next year.
“Also, a wonderful and anonymous local sponsor from Eastbourne has guaranteed financial support during 2025. So, we are now busy planning for the Next Year and beyond!
“Our final present this Christmas is the arrival of an experienced broadcaster to join our management team. He has both run his own successful business and managed a large charitable organisation which, like Seahaven FM, is mainly staffed by volunteers.”
Seahaven FM says new sponsors, donors, advertisers, volunteers and listeners are always welcome and more details can be found at SeahavenFM.radio.

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BBC Sounds will be available as an in-car app for all BMW and MINI vehicles with a data connection running the latest firmware.
Any of those vehicles running BMW or MINI OS 9 will be able to browse and listen to content without the need to connect to a mobile phone.
Once signed in, listeners will get a personalised experience which synchronises their playback history across devices, and allows features such as rewind and pausing live radio.
Storm Fagan, chief product officer for the BBC, said: “People love to listen to the BBC when they’re in the car – it’s a huge part of how people interact with the BBC, and drivetime shows are still some of the most popular radio we make.
“But as technology in cars gets better, drivers have far more entertainment options. By launching this dedicated in-car app, we’re able to give drivers the full BBC Sounds experience – enabling them to listen to all their favourite podcasts, music mixes and, of course, live radio while they’re behind the wheel more easily than ever before.”
Andrew Furse, BMW Product Operations Manager, said, “We’re proud to make it easier than ever for BMW and MINI customers to enjoy their favourite BBC content on the move. This latest integration complements the wide range of apps already available in our vehicles and underscores our commitment to delivering a seamless in-car entertainment experience.”
The in-car BBC Sounds app will be available, along with all other apps, within the vehicle’s Appstore. The vehicle’s Appstore is only available to drivers with a data service, such as a subscription to BMW Digital Premium or MINI Connected Package.
Currently, the following cars can install BBC Sounds for Android Automotive:

BMW 1 Series (2024 onwards)
BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé (2025 onwards)
BMW 2 Series Active Tourer (2024 onwards)
BMW X1/iX1 (2023 onwards)
BMW X2/iX2 (2024 onwards)
BMW X3 (2024 onwards)
All MINI models (2024 onwards)

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