Arielle Free and Danny Howard land huge new Radio 1 Dance shows
Later this summer, Radio 1 will introduce several new shows on the BBC Sounds Radio 1 Dance stream. Arielle Free will host "Radio 1 Dance Morning," launching on July 15 and available daily from Monday to Sunday. Danny Howard will present "Radio 1’s Dance Party Warm Up," a weekly show every Thursday from 6pm to 8pm, designed to get listeners ready for the weekend. Pete Tong will curate "Essential History of Dance," a weekly show on Saturdays from 7pm to 8pm, dedicated to exploring the story of the Dance genre.
A new evening specialist series will feature collaborations with key Dance music labels, including Defected Records, HE.SHE.THEY., and DnB Allstars. Additionally, Connor Coates will present a daily playlist called "Radio 1 Dance" from Northern Ireland, playing the best new, current, and classic Dance tracks. Charlie Hedges' "Radio 1 Dance Anthems" will be streamed daily in the afternoons.
In a recent announcement, it was revealed that Martha will take over the station’s weekly Tuesday night show from 11pm to 1am, previously hosted by the late Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale. Martha will continue Annie's legacy by showcasing the biggest and best new Dance tracks from around the world. Martha, who was greatly supported by Annie and one of the inaugural recipients of the Annie Nightingale Presents Scholarship, will also be simulcast on the Radio 1 Dance stream. This scholarship, created by Annie Nightingale in 2021, aims to celebrate and elevate talented women and non-binary individuals in the electronic music scene by providing them with a national platform to showcase their taste and expertise.
Radio 1 Dance will also present special live shows this Summer from Ibiza and Malta. The shows form part of a revamp of Radio 1's Summer schedules.
Among the changes, Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James will be extended to 11am (Monday – Thursday) for the summer to allow more of his young listeners to wake up with him over the summer weeks. Listeners will be treated to an additional thirty minutes of Greg’s antics with even more humour and energy guaranteed to help them get through the morning.
Greg James says: “Being on the radio is pretty much my entire personality so why not do an extra half hour a day for all those who can’t be bothered waking up early for the Breakfast Show in the summer holidays.”
In other news, Radio 1 will provide the soundtrack to the hottest summer festivals broadcasting live from Glastonbury, TRNSMT, and Reading and Leeds, in addition to being live from Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Parklife and Download over previous weekends. Radio 1 will deliver all of the most memorable moments from each festival directly to listeners, from exclusive backstage interviews to headline performances from some of the world’s biggest artists. Listeners can tune in live on BBC Sounds as well as on Radio 1 from Friday to Sunday (1pm – 4pm).
Additionally, Sam and Danni will cover Friday Early Breakfast (5am – 7am) from 5 July, until January 2025. The duo will keep the seat warm until the next wave of presenting talent will take the reins and the slot will resume to its normal format dedicated to showcasing the very best new and emerging presenting talent. Sam and Danni will host Friday Early Breakfast alongside Weekend Breakfast (Saturdays and Sundays, 7am – 10am) with both shows broadcasting from Cardiff.