National presenters confirmed for Heart, Capital and Smooth in England

The current London presenters for Heart and Capital Drive, as well as Smooth Breakfast, will take on a national show later this month as the brands go fully networked.

Dozens of presenters and producers were told last month about the changes, meaning an end to around 20 regional programmes on heritage stations.

From Monday 24th February, JK & Kelly Brook will present Heart Drive across England, airing Monday to Friday, 4pm-7pm.

Their show, already available nationally on DAB, will now extend to the FM network in England.

Will Manning will host Capital Drive across England, also airing Monday to Friday, 4pm-7pm. In addition to his drivetime show, Will continues to present The EE Official Big Top 40 every Sunday from 4pm-7pm.

Jenni Falconer will host a fully networked Smooth Breakfast across England & Wales, airing Monday to Friday, 6am-10am.

In Scotland, Smooth Scotland’s Breakfast show with John Mellis will continue to broadcast from Global’s centre in Glasgow.

In Wales, Josh Andrews & Kally Davies will present a dedicated Capital Drive across Wales, broadcasting across the nation from Cardiff. Jagger & Woody will continue to host Heart Drive across Wales.

The move follows the introduction of the Media Act, which has allowed radio groups to remove all locally hosted programmes and replace them with a national feed around the clock.

RadioToday revealed exclusively last month that Global is taking full advantage of the change in legislation with a new approach with national shows rather than regional ones.

RadioToday can also confirm six broadcasting centres, currently home to large regional programmes, will be closing this year. They are Newcastle, Leeds, Nottingham, Wrexham, Milton Keynes and Fareham near Southampton.

Ashley Tabor-King CBE, Founder & Executive President of Global, said: “This is an important time as we enter the next chapter of our growth, with fully national drive shows for Heart and Capital in England, and a fully national Breakfast show for Smooth across England and Wales.

“Our focus on a Nations programming strategy, with national brands delivered locally, at quality and scale, aims to give the very best content for listeners and advertisers as well as maintaining local touchpoints including news, travel, and weather.”

The new schedules take effect from Monday 24th February.