BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
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BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via
BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is a Closed platform, walled garden streaming media and audio download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile pho ...
from studios at the
Cambridge Business Park Cambridge Business Park is a large business complex in Cambridge, England, owned by the Crown Estate. It is home to many companies, mostly Information Technology, IT-related, such as Qualcomm, Autonomy (company), Autonomy, MathWorks and Red Gate ...
on Cowley Road in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. According to
RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and RadioCentre. RAJAR's predecessor was calle ...
, the station has a weekly audience of 87,000 listeners and a 6.9% share as of September 2022.


Original schedule

Radio Cambridgeshire began broadcasting on 1 May 1982 and was originally known as Radio Cambridge and Radio Peterborough. It was originally based at studios on Hills Road, close to
Cambridge railway station Cambridge railway station is the principal station serving the city of Cambridge in the east of England. It stands at the end of Station Road, south-east of the city centre. It is the northern terminus of the West Anglia Main Line, down th ...
. Under the first manager, Hal Bethell, Radio Cambridgeshire's early broadcasts were restricted to a few hours at breakfast and two hours in the afternoon. The opening day was broadcast from Cambridge and all the district offices at Peterborough, Wisbech, March, Huntingdon and Ely. The first programme was presented by Gina Madgett (formerly Radio Nottingham) and the first record played on-air was ''
Ebony and Ivory "Ebony and Ivory" is a song that was released in 1982 as a single by Paul McCartney featuring Stevie Wonder. It was issued on 29 March that year as the lead single from McCartney's third solo album, ''Tug of War'' (1982). Written by McCartney ...
'' by
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
and
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
. The original weekday presenters were: * Julian Dunne (''New Day'', an all-speech news service that ran at the same hours as ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'' on Radio 4, on which it was based) * Anne Bristow and Jane Solomons, alternating (''The Light Programme'', a mixture of music and light interviews) * Gina Madgett (''The Home Service'', a largely speech programme with interviews intended to interest listeners at home) When Hal Bethell left the station for health reasons, he was replaced by the deputy manager of
Radio Lincolnshire BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lincolnshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios near Newport Arch in Lincoln. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly aud ...
, Dave Wilkinson. He extended broadcasting into the afternoon by hiring
Radio Lincolnshire BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lincolnshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios near Newport Arch in Lincoln. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly aud ...
presenter, John Richards. Wilkinson returned to Radio Lincolnshire as manager and was replaced by Ian Masters, ex-presenter of
BBC East BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, northern Buckinghamshire, and the majority of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex. It is headquartered in The Forum, Norwich since 2003. It wa ...
's regional TV news programme, '' Look East''.


Peterborough studios

The Peterborough studio opened in a single office in Broadway Court, rented from Peterborough Development Corporation, the body responsible for the city's expansion as a New Town. The broadcasting equipment was two Studer tape recorders, a four-channel mixer and two microphones, which were placed on a table surrounded by mobile sound baffles. Ian Cameron, the first Peterborough-based presenter, realised at the last moment that the wall behind the temporary studio abutted the office block's lavatories and asked the staff in Cambridge to listen while he flushed the cistern. Nothing could be heard and the broadcast went ahead without fear of others in the office block inadvertently disturbing it. In 1983, Peterborough was equipped with its own studio, using a 12-channel Audix mixing desk made in the county and two Studer B67 tape machines, with a third machine for editing in a neighbouring office. That office later become a studio as well, although it could go on the air only from the main studio alongside. The first complete programme from Peterborough was presented by Julia Booth (formerly of ''BBC Radio London'') while the studio's opening party was going on on the floor below. In 1987, the studio gained the ability to broadcast localised opt-outs. At first, the opt-out was used only for traffic information in the morning news programme and, later in the day, for five-minute spots of purely local information. The first full opt-out programme from Peterborough was presented by Les Woodland in the afternoon while John Richards broadcast from Cambridge. Steve Somers presented the BBC Radio Peterborough daily Breakfast show. Production assistant for the opt-in station was Darren Deans. The next programme to opt out was ''Sounds Eastern'', two hours of music and commentary aimed at Peterborough's Indian, Pakistani, Sikh and Bengali population and presented by Ansar Ali. The Peterborough Breakfast show opt out was abandoned in 2012 due to BBC cutbacks, and presenter Paul Stainton took over presenting duties of the countywide breakfast show, then the mid-morning show following Andy Harper's retirement in 2014, before leaving the station in September 2017. The Peterborough studio has now closed after not being used for a couple of years.


Outside broadcasts

The station's first outside broadcasts were of results from local elections held soon after the station went on the air. The station's radio car was used from the back doors of the town hall in Peterborough. The reporter was Ian Cameron. The first complete programme broadcast away from the studio was the same year, from the
East of England Show The East of England Agricultural Society is an agricultural society in the east of England. The Society which is a registered charity owns the land known as the East of England Showground in Peterborough, England. History The Society was form ...
in Peterborough, presented by Anne Bristow.


Remote studios

Radio Cambridgeshire, when it opened, had satellite studios in
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
, Ely and
Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
, using offices in council buildings. The studios were equipped with a microphone and a small mixing desk and were used to save contributors a journey to Cambridge or to Peterborough.


Symbol

The first station badge or symbol was a design suggesting Cambridgeshire's three main rivers, the Nene, the
Ouse Ouse may refer to: Places Rivers in England * River Ouse, Yorkshire * River Ouse, Sussex * River Great Ouse, Northamptonshire and East Anglia ** River Little Ouse, a tributary of the River Great Ouse Other places * Ouse, Tasmania, a town in Au ...
and the
Cam Calmodulin (CaM) (an abbreviation for calcium-modulated protein) is a multifunctional intermediate calcium-binding messenger protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It is an intracellular target of the secondary messenger Ca2+, and the bin ...
. Before the station came on the air, the manager, Hal Bethell, arranged with the Pye radio company, which had long been associated with Cambridge, to use a design based on the sun-through-clouds design which Pye previously cut into the loudspeaker screens of its original radios. The sun-and-clouds symbol remained until a BBC ruling that all its stations should have a joint logo to underline the national nature of the local service.


Transmitters

The 95.7FM signal, directional eastwards across North Cambridgeshire, is by far the stronger. On 30 October 2004, a fire broke out (thought to be
arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
) 80 ft up the main Peterborough mast, one mile west of Morborne, and the heat caused the whole mast to collapse. A shorter
BT Group plc BT Group plc (trade name, trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is th ...
tower with
microwave transmission Microwave transmission is the transmission of information by electromagnetic waves with wavelengths in the microwave frequency range of 300MHz to 300GHz(1 m - 1 mm wavelength) of the electromagnetic spectrum. Microwave signals are normally limi ...
dishes next to it was undamaged. The 95.7FM signal was put out of action for a few weeks. Peterborough has FM BBC national radio,
BBC National DAB BBC National DAB is a digital audio broadcasting multiplex in the UK, for a number of radio stations which have UK wide coverage. The multiplex is owned and operated by the BBC and is transmitted from a number of transmitter sites across the co ...
, Classic FM and
Digital One Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covered more than 90% of the population from 137 transmitters. Coverage was extended to Northern Ireland in July 2013. It cont ...
. The Madingley transmitter also carries national FM BBC radio,
Digital One Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covered more than 90% of the population from 137 transmitters. Coverage was extended to Northern Ireland in July 2013. It cont ...
,
BBC National DAB BBC National DAB is a digital audio broadcasting multiplex in the UK, for a number of radio stations which have UK wide coverage. The multiplex is owned and operated by the BBC and is transmitted from a number of transmitter sites across the co ...
,
Heart East Heart East is a regional radio broadcasting, radio station owned and operated by Global Group, Global as part of the Heart (radio network), Heart network. It broadcasts to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched ...
and
Kiss 105-108 Kiss 105-108 was an Independent local radio station serving East Anglia from the Kiss Network. All programming after 2010 was networked from the national station KISS. Technical FM Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, North Essex 106.4 FM Mend ...
on 105.6 FM as well as the NOW Cambridge DAB multiplex. Chesterton Fen also has
Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...
on 1197MW. The DAB signals come from two multiplexes in Cambridgeshire. As of 30 November 2002, the NOW Digital Peterborough 12D multiplex has come from Peterborough (main signal), plus Hitchingbrooke Hospital (Huntingdon). A planned DAB transmitter for Stamford (in south
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
) was not launched for this multiplex. NOW Peterborough covers Peterborough,
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
, Stamford and Spalding. Since 30 September 2004, the NOW Digital Cambridge 11C multiplex has come from Madingley. BBC Asian Network is transmitted for Peterborough and North Cambs on 1449 kHz from the
Gunthorpe, Peterborough Gunthorpe is a residential area of the city of Peterborough, in the unparished area of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of E ...
mast. This was originally BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's AM frequency for Peterborough. In addition, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire also broadcasts on
Freeview Freeview may refer to: * Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia * Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), ...
TV channel 722 in the
BBC East BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, northern Buckinghamshire, and the majority of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex. It is headquartered in The Forum, Norwich since 2003. It wa ...
region and streams online via
BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is a Closed platform, walled garden streaming media and audio download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile pho ...
. On 10 May 2021, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire ceased broadcasting on Medium Wave.


Programming

Local programming is produced and broadcast from the BBC's Cambridge studios from 6am – 10pm on weekdays, from 6am – 6pm and 8-10pm on Saturdays and from 6am – 2pm and 6-10pm on Sundays. Off-peak programming, including the late show from 10pm – 1am, originates from sister stations
BBC Radio Suffolk BBC Radio Suffolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Suffolk. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Matthews Street in Ipswich. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...
,
BBC Three Counties Radio BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Grove Park in Dunstable. According t ...
,
BBC Radio Norfolk BBC Radio Norfolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Norfolk. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Forum in Norwich. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...
,
BBC Radio Northampton BBC Radio Northampton is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Northamptonshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Abington Street in Northampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a ...
and
BBC Essex BBC Essex is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Essex. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on New London Road in Chelmsford. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 160,000 ...
. During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire simulcasts overnight programming from
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
and
BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM broadcasting, FM frequency, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, ...
.


Former presenters

* Chris Morris *
Matthew Amroliwala Matthew Amroliwala (born 1962) is a British television newsreader, who presents '' Global with Matthew Amroliwala'' on BBC World News each weekday at 1500 hrs GMT. He has also been an occasional relief presenter of the ''BBC News at One'' on BB ...
* Dr Chris Smith *
Richard Spendlove Richard Spendlove MBE (born 16 June 1939) is a retired British radio presenter/producer television writer. Life and work Spendlove was born in Carlton in Nottinghamshire. He worked for British Railways for 35 years, and in 1963 was appoint ...


Naked Scientists

BBC Cambridgeshire is also the home of multi award-winning science programme
The Naked Scientists ''The Naked Scientists'' is a one-hour audience-interactive science radio talk show broadcast live by the BBC in the East of England, nationally by BBC Radio 5 Live and internationally on ABC Radio National, Australia; it is also distributed g ...
, a group of
Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
doctors and researchers with a passion for making science fun. They strip down science and lay the facts bare every Sunday evening, inviting listeners to call in and talk science. They are joined in the studio by a succession of guest scientists who talk about their work and take questions live from the audience. The current series of
The Naked Scientists ''The Naked Scientists'' is a one-hour audience-interactive science radio talk show broadcast live by the BBC in the East of England, nationally by BBC Radio 5 Live and internationally on ABC Radio National, Australia; it is also distributed g ...
launched in October 2005. The Naked Scientists is supported by a website,The Naked Scientists website
/ref> which contains archived editions of their previous programmes in streamed and
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
formats. Archiving their radio programmes online in this way, in 2005 the Naked Scientists were the first BBC local radio programme to co-exist as a podcast in the iTunes music store. Between 2003 and 2012 the Naked Scientists was broadcast across the BBC East region comprising eight local BBC radio stations in the east of England. From January 2013, the programme has aired on Sunday evenings on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. The Naked Scientists team also provide day-to-day support for science coverage in mid-week programmes on the station. The name of the programme is a nod to
Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reache ...
, a cook whose television programme is called the ''Naked Chef'', who grew up in Clavering to the south east of Cambridge.


References


External links

*
History of local radio in Cambridgeshire

The Naked Scientists

BBC Radio Peterborough's Steve Somers

BBC Radio Peterborough's Darren Deans

Tony Martin visits the station


Audio clips


2001 jingle

''The A14 Song''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc Radio Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
Radio stations established in 1982 Culture in Cambridgeshire Organisations based in Cambridge Radio stations in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 1982 establishments in England