| Other names | Drivetime From Radio 2 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Music, Talk |
| Running time | 2 hours |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 2 |
| Hosts | Simon Mayo |
| Starring | Sally Boazman Rebecca Pike Matt Williams |
| Recording studio | Broadcasting House, London |
| Air dates | since 11 January 2010 |
| Audio format | 88–91 FM, DAB digital radio, TV and online |
| Opening theme | Enjoy Yourself by Prince Buster and Jools Holland |
| Website | Official BBC Website |
| Podcast | More Mayo |
Simon Mayo Drivetime is a popular programme on BBC Radio 2, which airs on weekdays between 17:00 and 19:00 in the United Kingdom.[1] It is presented by broadcaster Simon Mayo, who moved to drivetime from his weekday afternoon show on BBC Radio 5 Live after Chris Evans moved to take over the Radio 2 Breakfast Show.[2]
Contents |
Simon is regularly joined by three co-presenters Rebecca Pike, Matt Williams and Sally Boazman.
Rebecca presents the business news at 17:30 and 18:30 every day. She regularly has guests to discuss the latest economic developments, and at the end of the 17:30 headlines also reports on the FTSE market data and exchange rates. On Fridays Rebecca interviews a guest with an interesting invention, known as the Innovation Slot. She also joins in with the daily confession (see below) as "Sister Rebecca".
Matt is the sports presenter on the show, and presides over Matt's World of Sport at 17:45 and 18:45 each day. He also regularly has sporting guests to discuss the daily sports news. On Friday, in the 18:45 report Matt interviews somebody who is involved in a (sometimes obscure) sport that is not regularly reported in the general media, known as the Friday Fixture. He is also involved in the daily confession (see below) as "Brother Matt", and announces the weekly rock tune on Wednesdays as "Doctor Mosh".
Sally is the regular weekday afternoon travel reporter on Steve Wright and Simon's shows and reads the travel news at 17:20, 17:50, 18:20 and 18:50 each day. She participates in the daily confession (see below) as "Mother Superior".
A selection of five or six songs all related to a particular topic relevant to that day's events are played throughout the show, chosen by readers of the show's blog.
At around 5:15, Simon introduces a guest and they discuss an issue raised in the previous day's show, or in the news on that day. The guest is generally an expert (although this term is stretched to its limits continually by the show) in the subject area under discussion. Subjects discussed are as far-ranging as guitar-playing techniques and whether Skunks have a moral code.
Listeners are invited to send in questions that they've "always wanted to ask" to see if other listeners can answer them. These can be any form of question, such as "What depth of the ground beneath my house do I actually own?" or "At what point does gravity (from the Earth) stop?". These are answered (to varying degrees of success) by the general public, before a definitive answer is provided by an academic or other expert in whatever subject area the question relates to. This was previously only open to children wanting help with their homework (hence the title) but was soon expanded to any general questions from anyone.
Main page: Confessions (radio)
Carried on from Simon's previous radio shows on BBC Radio 1, listeners send in embarrassing or funny stories about them offending, injuring, or playing practical jokes on people, that they never owned up to at the time it happened. The stories are judged by a panel composed of Simon, Rebecca, Matt, and the "Mother Superior" (Sally) and are granted forgiveness on the basis of remorse by the culprit, or (more frequently) the humor of the story.
Towards the end of the show Simon, Rebecca and Matt quiz each other on their respective specialist subjects (general knowledge (sometimes simply music), business news and sport, respectively), and a score is kept throughout the week. The looser from the week has to buy the rest cookies or cake (though whether this actually happens is not known).
Listeners vote from a list of songs - all of the same musical style as the specialist music show following Drivetime on any particular day - which is heard right at the end of the show. At present the different styles are:
(Thursdays only) The show's resident chef, Nigel Barden, cooks the team some (sometimes unusual) dishes.