Other names Drivetime From Radio 2 Running time 2 hours | ||
Simon Mayo Drivetime is the current incarnation of the drivetime show on BBC Radio 2, which airs on weekdays between 17:00 and 19:00 in the United Kingdom. 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.
Contents
Matt Williams
Matt Williams is the sports reporter on the show, presenting Matt's World of Sport at 17:50 and 18:50 each day. On Fridays, in the second report he interviews somebody who is involved in a sport that is not regularly reported in the general media, known as the Friday Fixture. He also announces the weekly rock tune on Wednesdays as "Doctor Mosh", as well as participating in the daily confession as 'Brother Matt'.
Bobbie Pryor
Bobbie Pryor is the regular weekday afternoon travel reporter on Radio 2, and reads the travel news at 17:20, 17:55, 18:30 and 18:55 each day. Pryor was previously the Friday afternoon and weekend travel reporter but from 11 August 2014 became the regular weekday reporter, replacing Sally Boazman who moved to weekends. She participates in the daily confession as 'Bobbie from the Priory'.
Nigel Barden
Radio 2's resident chef, who cooks for the team every Thursday. He participates in Thursday's confession as 'Novice Nigel'.
Stand-in Presenters
Stand-in presenters on the show have included Patrick Kielty, Liza Tarbuck, Ryan Tubridy, Richard Allinson, Richard Bacon and most recently Mark Goodier.
Sally Boazman
Sally Boazman was the regular travel reporter on the show, but in August 2014 made the move to weekends on Radio 2. Due to holidays, her final show with Mayo was on 24 July 2014, but her last report was on 7 August 2014.
Alan Dedicoat
Alan Dedicoat was the regular weekday newsreader on Radio 2, who read the 17:00 news coming into the show. He also occasionally participated in the daily confession as 'The Dean of Deadly' (a reference to his long-standing nickname, coined by Sir Terry Wogan). Dedicoat retired from regular newsreading duties on Radio 2 on Friday 27 March 2015, but briefly returned on Monday 30 March 2015 for one final confession.
Rebecca Pike
Rebecca Pike presented the business news at 17:30 and 18:40 every day, and at the end of the 17:30 bulletin also reports on the FTSE market data and exchange rates. On Fridays she interviewed a guest with a new invention, known as the Innovation Slot. Pike was known as 'Sister Rebecca' when participating in the daily confession. She left the programme on 17 December 2015.
Show Features
The show's opening and closing theme tune is a 2003 recording by Jools Holland and Prince Buster of the 1948 song "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later than You Think)" by Carl Sigman and Herb Magidson. Before the theme plays, a re-written, acapella version of Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) by Harry Belafonte plays, with "Day-O, me say Day-O" replaced with "Mayo, Simon Mayo". Previously, some editions of the show also used the 1950 hit version by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, or occasionally the version by The Specials from their 1980 album More Specials.
Monday-Thursday Regular Features
Former features
All-Request Friday
To allow Mayo time to continue to present Kermode and Mayo's Film Review on 5Live and following on from Chris Evans' Drivetime show, on Fridays all records played are chosen by the listeners - hence the name. The regular features from Mondays-Thursdays do not appear. Regular background music used on Fridays includes "On the Rebound" by Floyd Cramer, "Tom Hark" by The Piranhas, "A Swingin' Safari" by Bert Kaempfert, "Giorgio by Moroder" by Daft Punk and "House of the King" by Focus, as well as other stock instrumentals in different musical styles.
Special shows
Occasionally there is a special edition of the show, covering special events in the UK. Such events have included pre-show coverage of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, a fortnight of special shows for the London 2012 Olympics and a special programme from the Science Museum in London to commemorate the BBC's 90th anniversary on 14 November 2012.
Podcasts
As with several other shows across BBC Radio, highlights from the show are released as a podcast, which can be downloaded from the BBC's website and from other sources (such as iTunes). Two weekly podcasts are produced, both released on Fridays. The Weekly Mayo features highlights of the interviews from the preceding week, whilst Simon Mayo's Confessions is a collection of the confessions.
Books
Two books have been released by Bantam Press, both based on features from the show. The first, Confessions, was released on 13 October 2011 featuring a collection of the best confessions featured on the programme, and the second, entitled Homework Sucks!, was released a year later on 11 October 2012 featuring a selection of the "Homework Sucks" questions and answers.
Album
An album featuring a selection of live tracks performed on the show, alongside other tracks picked by Mayo was released on 24 February 2014.
Awards
The show won the title of Best Music Programme in the 2011 Sony Radio Academy Awards.