The duo of Pete and Geoff were DJs Pete Mitchell and

Geoff Lloyd Geoff Barron Lloyd (born 20 April 1973) is an English radio presenter, television host, podcast host and writer, best known for his talk radio and music shows. Early life Lloyd was born in Withington, Manchester, England,Barrie White"Radio's ...

, who from January 2003 to December 2005 hosted the breakfast show on

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, ...

. In the early 1980s, Mitchell was an aspiring musician who moved into management and production. In 1988 he joined

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Piccadilly Radio Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...

and went on to be an enthusiastic champion of indie bands of the "

Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene. Indie-dance (sometimes referred to as indie-rave) saw artists merging indie music ...

" scene in the early nineties. Around this time,

Craig Cash Craig Cash (born 11 September 1960)
Retrie ...

introduced him to Geoff Lloyd.The Independent: Geoff Lloyd on Craig Cash
Lloyd was an aspiring comedy writer and performer, and a fellow radio presenter. In 1996 they were asked by

Key 103 ''For the Network, see Hits Radio. For the National DAB station, see Hits Radio UK.'' Hits Radio Manchester is an Independent local radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Greater Mancheste ...

to co-present its afternoon show. The duo rapidly established a cult following with their witty and slightly risque banter, and in 1998 won a

Sony Radio Academy Award The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

for their show. They were subsequently recruited by Virgin Radio and again rapidly built up a significant audience for its Drivetime Show. By 2003 they were the most popular DJs on the station, and were moved to the Breakfast Show in order to increase the audience. This they did very successfully, sticking to their well-established formula of slightly risque banter about contemporary news and culture, with Mitchell tending to play the "straight man" to the more outrageous Lloyd. Lloyd occasionally courted controversy with some of his remarks, most notoriously when he expressed willingness to eat the limbs of a dead baby to ease poverty. A complaint against the station was upheld, and Lloyd was reprimanded for his comments. Nevertheless, the audience for the show remained strong, despite (or possibly because of) Lloyd's willingness to stray to the edge of acceptability with his remarks. On 28 November 2005 the duo announced that they were splitting up and leaving the Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio. Their final show together took place on 16 December. Geoff Lloyd remained at Virgin Radio, hosting the Late Show, whilst Pete Mitchell left the station to pursue other projects.

Christian O'Connell Christian Liam O'Connell (born 7 April 1973 in Winchester, Hampshire) is a British radio disc jockey, television host, writer, and comedian living in Australia. He presents ''The Christian O'Connell Show'' on weekday mornings on Gold 104.3 in ...

, from the Breakfast Show on

Xfm London Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2015 ...

, replaced the pair as host of the Breakfast Show. Pete Mitchell died on 12 March 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pete and Geoff Virgin Radio (UK) British radio personalities British radio DJs