1979 in British radio

• 27 January – BBC Radio 2's last closedown at 02:02. Sarah Kennedy is at the Newsdesk after Brian Matthew finishes "Round Midnight". From 02:00 to 05:00 the following night, listeners hear "You and the Night and the Music". Radio 2 has the longest period of continuous broadcasting of any national radio station in the UK.
• 29 January – BBC Radio 1 begins its delayed weeknight mid-evening programme with Andy Peebles joining to host the new programme. It had originally been scheduled to launch on 13 November 1978 but was delayed as a result of trade union disputes.

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• 1 April – The first edition of Feedback is broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/radio4/fm/1979-04-01 BBC Genome Project – BBC Radio 4 listings 1 April 1979]

• 5 May – The first Radio Lollipop, a cable-wired station for children in hospital, goes on air, broadcasting to Queen Mary's Hospital for Children in Surrey, England.

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• 2 September – Tony Blackburn replaces Simon Bates as host of Radio 1's Top 40 show.
• September – Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher considers introducing advertising for some BBC radio services, but later abandons the idea after encountering opposition.Revealed publicly in papers released by The National Archives at the end of 2014. {{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30622889 |title=Margaret Thatcher considered advertising on BBC |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=30 December 2014 |accessdate=30 December 2014}}

• 5 October – The Scottish Gaelic service {{lang|gd|BBC Radio nan Eilean}} launches, broadcasting to north west Scotland from Stornoway.

• November – A weekday mid-morning programme launches on BBC Radio Cymru, thereby extending its broadcasting hours to 65 hours each week. Previously, apart from extended news bulletins at lunchtime and early evening, and some off-peak opt-outs, the station had only been on air at breakfast time.

• 16 December – After a decade on air, United Biscuits closes down its internal radio station United Biscuits Network due to it being seen as no longer necessary to operate a radio station due to the rollout of independent commercial stations.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/05/cracker-factory-records-the-surprising-story-of-united-biscuits-radio-station |title=Cracker factory records: the surprising story of United Biscuits' radio station |accessdate=2020-11-06 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105103022/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/05/cracker-factory-records-the-surprising-story-of-united-biscuits-radio-station |archive-date=2020-11-05 }}

• 5 May – Radio Lollipop
• 11 September – BBC Radio Foyle

• 1 April – Feedback on BBC Radio 4 (1979–Present)
• 7 July – Science in Action on BBC World Service (1979–Present)
• 29 September – Breakaway on BBC Radio 4 (1979–1998)
• 30 September – The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4 (1979–Present)
• October – Tony's on BBC Radio 2 (1979–1981)

• Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
• Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
• Down Your Way (1946–1992)
• Letter from America (1946–2004)
• Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
• A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

• The Archers (1950–Present)
• The Today Programme (1957–Present)
• Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
• Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

• Farming Today (1960–Present)
• In Touch (1961–Present)
• The World at One (1965–Present)
• The Official Chart (1967–Present)
• Just a Minute (1967–Present)
• The Living World (1968–Present)
• The Organist Entertains (1969–2018)

• PM (1970–Present)
• Start the Week (1970–Present)
• Week Ending (1970–1998)
• You and Yours (1970–Present)
• I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–Present)
• Good Morning Scotland (1973–Present)
• Kaleidoscope (1973–1998)
• Newsbeat (1973–Present)
• The News Huddlines (1975–2001)
• The Burkiss Way (1976–1980)
• File on 4 (1977–Present)
• Money Box (1977–Present)
• The News Quiz (1977–Present)

• 11 November – Hello Cheeky (BBC Radio 2) (1973–1979)
• The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (BBC Radio 4) (1977–1979)

• 16 December – United Biscuits Network (1970–1979)

• 8 March – Zena McNally, singer and radio presenter
• 9 March – Adele Roberts, disc jockey
• 4 April – OJ Borg, broadcast presenter
• 4 May – Wes Butters, radio presenter
• 8 September – Miles Jupp, comedy performer
• Unknown
• Rick Edwards, broadcast presenter
• Anna Foster, BBC radio presenter
• Lucy Horobin, Heart radio presenter

• 23 February – Albert Modley, comedy entertainer, 77
• 9 September – Ronnie Taylor, broadcast comedy scriptwriter and producer, 58
• 27 September – Gracie Fields, singer and actress, BBC and Radio Luxembourg broadcaster, 81{{cite book|author=Colin Larkin|title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_JdGAAAAMAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Guinness Pub.|isbn=978-1-56159-176-3|page=1443}}
• 8 November – Sydney Tafler, actor, 63{{cite book|author=John A. Willis|title=John Willis' Screen World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nB4IAQAAMAAJ|year=1980|publisher=Crown|page=236}}
• 30 November – Joyce Grenfell, actress, comedian and singer, 69{{cite book|author1=Joyce Grenfell|author2=Reggie Grenfell|author3=Richard Garnett|title=Joyce|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IpYhAQAAMAAJ|date=25 September 1980|publisher=Macmillan|page=13}}
• December – Peter Eton, broadcast producer, 62

==See also==

• 1979 in British music
• 1979 in British television
• 1979 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1979

{{Reflist}}

Radio

British Radio, 1979 In

Category:Years in British radio