BBC Radio Wales begins to appear on FM in the major conurbations for the first time. Previously, apart from inGwent, the station had only been available on MW with the allocated block of FM frequencies for local broadcasting in Wales, which was only available in parts of the country, used byBBC Radio Cymru as BBC management had concluded that BBC Radio Cymru would not have enough listeners to merit nationwide coverage on a medium wave frequency.
22 January – Church leaders condemn Birmingham-based stationBRMB's "Two Strangers and a Wedding" competition in which contestants enter a competition to marry a complete stranger.[3] The winners, Greg Cordell and Carla Germaine are married at a Registry Office in the city, but the couple separates three months later.[4] Germaine later meets and marries BRMB disc jockeyJeremy Kyle.[5]
London's dance/urban stationKiss 100 is rebranded byEMAP Radio with a new logo. The station introduces a more mainstream pop-orientated playlist which has led to criticism from some DJs and listeners.
April –Radio Regen is launched in Manchester to provide training incommunity radio. It broadcasts a two-month-long temporary radio station called City Centre Life 87.7.
14 May – The finalLunchtime Concerto, which had aired on weekdays at 2pm since the station’s launch, is broadcast onClassic FM, ahead of a schedule refresh which includes the launch the next day of a new nightly magazine slotTonight at Eleven.
24 May –Radio 2 says that presenterSarah Kennedy is taking a week's holiday because of stress following a bizarre performance while standing in forTerry Wogan the previous Friday. This had included callingKen Bruce an "old fool" and referring to the presenter of the day'sPause For Thought slot as "an old prune". The episode attracted a number of concerned calls to the BBC, while Kennedy blames the incident on a lack of sleep the previous night and apologises to listeners. She had been due to stand in for Wogan the following week, but takes time off instead.[8]
2 August – It is announced thatITV has signedBBC sports presenterDes Lynam on a four-year contract to become the company's main football presenter.[13] Consequently, he will no longer present his Friday drivetime show onRadio 2.
19 August –BBC Radio 1 broadcasts its first split programming when it introduces weekly national new music shows for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. New presenters includeHuw Stephens andBethan Elfyn.[14]
Thirteen years afterRadio Victory had stopped broadcasting,Victory FM starts broadcasting to thePortsmouth area on a permanent basis, after six 28-day RSL FM broadcasts which took place between 1994 and 1998. Within weeks, the station is acquired byTLRC.
14 October – Managers atBBC Radio 2 reinstateJohnnie Walker after he is fined £2,000 by magistrates for admitting possession of cocaine; he will return to the airwaves on 6 December.[18]
15 November – Britain's first national commercialDAB digital radio multiplex,Digital One, goes on air to England, and parts of Scotland and Wales (it does not become available inNorthern Ireland until 2013). The stations carried on D1 at launch include the three national commercial AM/FM services –Classic FM,Virgin Radio (later Absolute) andTalk Radio UK (later talkSPORT) – along with two new digital-first stations – fresh pop serviceCore and classic rock stationPlanet Rock, both at this time under the ownership of Classic FM's then parent (and Digital One shareholder)GWR Group.
17 December – Britain's first millionpounds prize is given away, on a segment ofChris Evans'Virgin Radio breakfast show calledSomeone's Going to be a Millionaire (a reference to ITV'sWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which at the time has not had a million pound winner).
