Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio 1, including a five-year stint on the

Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week until February 1968 (seBBC Genome Project, then fi ...

. From 2001 he presented on

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 ...

: from his debut until 2009 on a daily afternoon programme, and since then until 2022 with ''

Kermode and Mayo's Film Review Kermode is a surname of Manx origin. It may refer to: I Surname * Robert Kermode (1812–1870), Tasmanian politician * P. M. C. Kermode (Philip Moore Callow Kermode, 1855–1932), Manx antiquarian and historian * Alexander Kermode (1876–1934) ...

'' on Fridays. Between January 2010 to December 2018 he was the presenter of ''

Simon Mayo Drivetime ''Simon Mayo Drivetime'', is the incarnation of the drivetime show on BBC Radio 2 between 11 January 2010 and 4 May 2018, being revived briefly for Mayo's final show with the station on 21 December that year, and then fully from 15 March 2021 o ...

'' on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

, for the final six months with co-host

Jo Whiley Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known by her professional name Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running weekday later weekend '' Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1. She curre ...

. Since March 2021,

has returned on

Greatest Hits Radio Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer. Overview The network launched on 5 January 2015 as the "Bauer City 2 Network", and rebranded on 7 January 2019 due to the success of Ra ...

. In 2008, Mayo was recognised as the "Radio Broadcaster of the Year" at the 34th annual

Broadcasting Press Guild The Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) is a British association of journalists dedicated to the topic of general media issues. History The Guild was established in 1974 as a breakaway of The Critics' Circle. Currently it groups over 100 staff and fr ...

Awards, and the "Speech Broadcaster of the Year" at the

Sony Radio Academy Awards 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 ...

, receiving the latter for his "ability to paint colourful pictures of location and event and his ability to bring the very best out of his guests, encouraging conversation and interaction between them while skilfully nudging and controlling them" and for being "a master of light and shade, handling serious and lighter issues with aplomb." Mayo is also a published author. His works include a book titled ''Confessions'', based on the '' Confessions'' slot from his radio shows, and several fictional thrillers.

Early life

Mayo's parents, Derek Mayo (1929–2001) and Jill, were both schoolteachers. He attended St John's Primary School in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, the

Arden School Arden Academy (formerly Arden School) is a ten form entry (from 2015) mixed comprehensive secondary school with academy status It was re-designated as an 11-18 school in September 2008. Arden is situated in the village of Knowle, three miles ...

in Knowle (for one term), the independent

Solihull School Solihull School is a coeducational Independent school (UK), independent day school in Solihull, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Founded in 1560, it is the oldest school in the town and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmi ...

(where his nickname, according to a newspaper profile in 2008, was "

Heinz The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...

", after the

salad cream Salad cream is a creamy, pale yellow condiment based on an emulsion of about 25–50 percent oil in water, emulsified by egg yolk and acidulated by spirit vinegar. It is somewhat similar in composition to mayonnaise and may include other ingredie ...

brand) and Worthing High School in West Sussex which was then a state

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

for boys. He graduated from the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

in 1981, with a degree in History and Politics.

Early career

His mother had undertaken part-time work in radio, and having occasionally experienced it with her, Mayo had wanted to work as a studio manager. But as a result of a frequency deficiency in his left ear, he failed the required hearing test, and refocused his career on presenting. Mayo spent some time honing his skills at Southlands Hospital Radio, and then worked for five years as a presenter with

BBC Radio Nottingham BBC Radio Nottingham is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the county of Nottinghamshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on London Road ...

from 10:45am to 2pm, followed by Dennis McCarthy. With a Radio Nottingham colleague he developed a programme format called ''Globe Phone'' and sent it to

Johnny Beerling John William Beerling (born 12 April 1937) is a British radio producer and station controller. Early life Beerling attended the Sir Roger Manwood's School in Sandwich, Kent. Career National Service He began his radio career during nationa ...

, Head of Radio 1, who offered him a job. He joined

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

in 1986, presenting a two-hour Saturday evening show from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. In October 1987 he progressed to the weekend early slots from 6am to 8am and then became presenter of the weekday evening show in January 1988, which went out from 7:30pm to 10pm. Five months later he was offered the

breakfast show, regarded as the most prestigious presentation job in UK radio.

Shows

BBC Radio 1

''Breakfast''

Mayo spent five years presenting ''

Radio 1 Breakfast ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week until February 1968 (seBBC Genome Project, then fi ...

'' on

. Throughout his tenure on the breakfast show, which was based on a "

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

" format, Mayo was joined by news anchor Rod McKenzie and by a sidekick weather and travel presenter: first Carol Dooley, then

Sybil Ruscoe Sybil Ruscoe (born 8th August 1960, Shropshire, England) is a English people, British radio and television presenter. Ruscoe was born in Wem, Shropshire, and began her career on the ''Express & Star'' newspaper in Wolverhampton. She then moved ...

Jackie Brambles Jackie Todd Brambles (previously Sherry-Brambles) (born 1 March 1967), formerly known as Jakki Brambles, is a British journalist, radio DJ and television presenter. Early life and early career Brambles was born in Harlow, Essex, England and g ...

, and

Dianne Oxberry Diane Clare Hindley (nee Oxberry) (13 August 1967 – 10 January 2019) was an English broadcaster and meteorologist, best known as a long-serving TV and radio presenter for BBC North West. She presented weather forecasts for the regional ...

. Weather and travel news reader stand-ins include Mayo's Radio 1 colleague

Lynn Parsons Lynn Margaret Parsons (born 27 June 1961) is a British disc jockey. Career Having graduated from college with an OND in electronic principles, Parsons started her career working in the television industry, where she was a sound engineer and l ...

Caron Keating Caron Louisa Keating (5 October 1962 – 13 April 2004) was a Northern Irish television presenter. Early life and education Keating was born on 5 October 1962 in Fulham, west London, to an English father with southern Irish roots and a Northern ...

(from ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...

'' and ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...

''), and

Philippa Forrester Philippa Clare Ryan Forrester (born September 1968) is a British television and radio presenter, producer and author. Throughout her career, Forrester has presented shows such as CBBC, ''Tomorrow's World'', Crufts, ''The Heaven and Earth Show'' ...

(from

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

). The show's producer was

Ric Blaxill Richard Eric Blaxill (born 19 July 1962) is a British radio and TV music producer and music programming director. Early life Career Radio 1 From 1988 to 1994, he was producer/senior producer at BBC Radio 1. Top of the Pops From 1994 to 1997, ...

, who also made regular speaking contributions. He started his first breakfast show by playing "

Somewhere in My Heart "Somewhere in My Heart" is a song by Scottish band Aztec Camera. It was released as the third single from their third studio album, ''Love'' (1987). The song was produced by Michael Jonzun and written by Roddy Frame. Released as a single in 198 ...

" by

Aztec Camera Aztec Camera were a Scottish pop/ new wave band founded by Roddy Frame, the group's singer, songwriter, and only consistent member. Formed in 1980, Aztec Camera released a total of six studio albums: ''High Land, Hard Rain'' (1983), ''Knife'' ...

, which was preceded by a montage of previous breakfast show hosts and then Mayo himself saying 'It's me, Simon Mayo, good morning.' The programme became known for various features, including '' On This Day in History'', sound-tracked by a looped version of

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

's "

I Want Your Sex "I Want Your Sex" is a song by the English singer and songwriter George Michael. Released as a single in late May 1987 (U.S.) and early June 1987 (UK), it was the third hit from the soundtrack to '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' and the first single fro ...

"; the long-running cryptic game ''

The Identik-Hit Quiz ''The Identik-Hit Quiz'' was a daily feature on the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show between December 1989 until September 1993, was hosted by Simon Mayo. The quiz ran initially at 6:40am - when the show began at 6:30am - then after the programme wa ...

'', where Mayo and his co hosts would act out a short scene which cryptically led listeners to the title of a hit song; and his '' Confessions'' feature where members of the public sought absolution for their (often frivolous or humorous) "sins". Mayo had already presented the dilemma show ''Scruples'' for BBC television, and had joined his Radio 1 colleagues on the host roster for ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. Both ''On This Day in History'' and ''Confessions'' spawned spin-off books. Due to frequent plays from Mayo, several unlikely hit singles reached the UK charts, including " Kinky Boots" by

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

and

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962 ...

; "Donald Where's Yer Troosers?" by Andy Stewart; and "

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a comedy song written by Monty Python member Eric Idle that was first featured in the Python film '' Life of Brian'' and has gone on to become a common singalong at public events such as football matc ...

", sung and written by

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadwa ...

. For helping

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

have a hit with the latter – 13 years after it first appeared on the soundtrack to ''

The Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It wa ...

'' – Idle presented Mayo with a model bare foot, in the style of the animated version which used to end the opening titles to the TV show. Like all Radio 1's high-profile presenters of the time, Mayo would take his turn to spend a week in a coastal area of the UK during the

Radio 1 Roadshow The Radio 1 Roadshow was an annual summer event hosted and broadcast by BBC Radio 1 from the 1970s through to the 1990s. The roadshow enjoyed three decades of live broadcasts from beach resorts around the UK. The curtain was brought down on the ...

s which ran for three months of the summer. For a short while, he also presented an additional weekend show for the station on a Sunday afternoon, provisionally titled ''O Solomon Mayo'', to cover for the absent

Phillip Schofield Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holly ...

, who was working in the West End.

Mid-mornings

Mayo formally gave up the breakfast show in 1993, though he had been on an extended period of paternity leave when the announcement was made. His stand-in

Mark Goodier Mark Goodier (born 9 June 1961) is a British radio disc jockey best known for his time on BBC Radio 1 between 1987 and 2002. He had two spells presenting the station's Top 40 singles chart, from 1990 to 1992 and from 1995 until 2002. He also h ...

was his replacement. Mayo took over the station's mid morning slot in October 1993, where he remained until February 2001. In addition to this, in May 1994, he presented ''Simon Mayo's Classic Years'', where he played two hours of classic pop tunes. The show originally went out on a Sunday lunchtime from noon till 2pm, but in November 1994 went out from 10am till noon on Sundays. This lasted until October 1995. In January 1997, Mayo made a brief return to the breakfast show for three weeks after Chris Evans was dismissed, but both Mayo and

ruled out the possibilities of a permanent return to the programme. On his first morning as breakfast stand-in, Mayo read out an email from a man who had emigrated to New Zealand four years earlier and had arrived back in the UK that morning, and was "delighted to hear you're still doing the breakfast show". In 1999 Mayo broke a world record by broadcasting for 37 hours in aid of that year's

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

. Mayo remained on the mid-morning slot until he left BBC Radio 1 in 2001, seeing breakfast-show presenters

, Steve Wright, Chris Evans,

Mark and Lard Mark and Lard was the stage name of Mark Radcliffe (Mark) and Marc Riley (Lard), who presented various weekday shows on BBC Radio 1 from 1991 to March 2004. Career Radcliffe, then a Radio 1 producer, began presenting specialist shows on the ne ...

Kevin Greening Kevin Greening (30 December 1962 – 29 December 2007) was a British radio presenter, who co-hosted ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' on BBC Radio 1 with Zoe Ball from 13 October 1997 to 25 September 1998. Early career Kevin Greening grew up in Bristol whe ...

Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & K ...

, and

Sara Cox Sara Joanne Cyzer (née Cox; born 13 December 1974) is an English broadcaster. She presented ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' on BBC Radio 1 from 3 April 2000 until 19 December 2003. Since January 2019 she now hosts the BBC Radio 2 drivetime show, Monday ...

, come and go from the slot, but the slot went to

. His final show was on Friday 16 February 2001, and before signing off, he said: "One of the reasons I'm not going to do a DLT is that I've nothing to complain about at all – though as I'll still be employed by the BBC it'd be a stupid thing to do. I always thought as a kid working at Radio 1 would be the most fun and the best place for any presenter to work and I still think that's true." His final track played on BBC Radio 1 was ''Ace of Spades'' by

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

BBC Radio 5 Live

In May 2001, after 15 years of broadcasting with BBC Radio 1, Mayo moved on to another national BBC station,

, to present an afternoon programme. He began broadcasting every weekday from 1pm to 4pm, where he remained until 18 December 2009. He was on air in 2001 when the

9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...

took place in the United States, broadcasting live as the events unfolded. The programme generally combined topical debates, interviews and reviews. It came live from

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

each Wednesday for live coverage of

Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...

, with discussion and debate afterwards with political correspondents and MPs. The programme also featured Mayo's former Radio 1 sidekick

Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...

reviewing the new movie releases each Friday afternoon. The banter between Mayo and Kermode in this section of the programme was described by both men as "wittertainment at its most wittertaining." (The

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

''wittertainment'' is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordswitter Witter may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Witter (surname) * Witter Bynner (1881–1968), American poet and translator Places * Witter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Witter, California, alternate name of Witter Springs, California * Wit ...

'' and ''entertainment'', and was coined in a – now deleted – Wikipedia entry. However, Kermode and Mayo took note of the article before its deletion and have since been using the term regularly to refer to their show.) In a May 2008 interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Mayo mentioned he "signed a contract for the next two years" and was uncertain whether he would still be at BBC Radio 5 Live when it moved to

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

. It was later confirmed that Mayo was to move to

's drivetime slot, though he continued to host a weekly two-hour film review show, ''

'', on BBC Radio 5 Live with Kermode until April 2022. In May 2009, Mayo and Kermode won a Gold Sony Radio Award in the Speech Award category.

BBC Radio 2

In addition to his daily programme on BBC Radio 5 Live, from October 2001 to April 2007, Mayo hosted the Album Chart show each week for BBC Radio 2. Alongside this, on 2 January 2006, he presented ''The Ultimate Music Year'' for the station, where listeners got the chance to vote for their favourite year for music. He has also presented many ''Sold on Song'' projects, presented the Top 100 Albums and provided holiday cover for

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Sc ...

on Sundays. From April 2007 to April 2008 Mayo took over the ''Radio 2 Music Club'' every Monday night from 11:30pm to 12:30am. In January 2010, Mayo took over from Chris Evans on the Drivetime show, noting he was "very lucky to be given a second chance in such a high-profile slot." The programme included a number of regular daily features including "Nigel's Recipes", " Confessions", "Homework Sucks" and "The Showstopper". Every Friday he hosted "All-Request Friday" where listeners rang the show and had their favourite song played on the radio after a short interview. The show ended on 4 May 2018 after eight years, as Mayo was to begin hosting a revamped drivetime show with co-host

from 14 May 2018. On 22 October that year, the station announced that Mayo would be leaving BBC Radio 2 altogether after a backlash against the change, with Whiley moving back to an evening slot. Their last show together aired on 20 December, with Mayo presenting his last show after 17 years with the station the following day. As his opening theme Mayo used the 2003 recording by

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

and

Prince Buster Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...

of the 1948 song " Enjoy Yourself" by Carl Sigman and by Herb Magidson. Later editions of the show also used the popular 1950 hit version by

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer. Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and othe ...

and his Royal Canadians. Incidental music included "

Light My Fire "Light My Fire" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. It was recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967 on their eponymous debut album. Released as an edited single on April 24, 1967, it spent three weeks at number one on t ...

" by

Edmundo Ros Edmundo Ros OBE, FRAM (7 December 1910 – 21 October 2011), born Edmund William Ross, was a Trinidadian-Venezuelan musician, vocalist, arranger and bandleader who made his career in Britain. He directed a highly popular Latin American orchestra ...

. In May 2011, Mayo won a Sony Award for "Best Music Show" for his work and that of his team on the BBC Radio 2 drive time slot. On 21 December 2018 Simon presented his last show on BBC Radio 2, it being an All Request Friday, which featured his jingles previously used on his drivetime show. The last song to be played was "

Bring Me Sunshine "Bring Me Sunshine" is a song written in 1966 by the composer Arthur Kent (songwriter), Arthur Kent, with lyrics by Sylvia Dee.Derek B. Scott, ''Sounds of the metropolis: the nineteenth-century popular music revolution in London, New York, Paris ...

" by

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

Scala Radio

On 4 March 2019 at 10am, Mayo presented the launch of a new

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. Types In digital broadcasting syst ...

station,

Scala Radio Scala Radio is a classical music digital radio station in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Radio since its launch in March 2019. The station broadcasts nationally on DAB via the Sound Digital multiplex and online through websites ...

, where he was one of the lead presenters. He presented a daily mid-morning show for two years, until starting work for Greatest Hits Radio; he continues to present his ''Essential Albums'' show for Scala on Saturdays.

Greatest Hits Radio

Mayo returned to his Monday to Friday drivetime radio show on 15 March 2021 on

, resurrecting many staples from his former

drivetime shows, including "Confessions", "Tunesday", "Nigel's Recipes" (Foodie Thursday, sponsored by

), and "All-Request Friday". He also presents his Album Show on Sunday afternoons, commencing September 2020.

Other work

BBC Radio 4

Mayo presented '' Act Your Age'', a

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio broadcasting, radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity conte ...

for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, first broadcast on Radio 4 on 27 November 2008.

Television projects

Between 1995 and 1998 Mayo presented a TV version of ''Confessions'', based on the hit feature from his BBC Radio 1 breakfast and mid-morning shows. Starting in 1999 he was the original presenter of National Lottery game show ''

Winning Lines ''Winning Lines'' is a National Lottery game show that was broadcast on BBC One from 12 June 1999 to 16 October 2004. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo and then by Phillip Schofield. Gameplay Round 1 Forty-nine contestants take part in t ...

'' on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

until 2000 when he was replaced by

in 2001. In 2005 he presented a series ''The Big Dig'' on BBC TV about allotments in the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

contrasted with others in Highgate, London. Mayo hosted a revival of the classic quiz show '' Blockbusters'', which began airing on Challenge on 14 May 2012 until 3 August 2012. He was the announcer for the

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

celebrating

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

on 4 June 2012.

Books

''Confessions'', based on the hit feature from his

drivetime show, and his former

breakfast and mid-morning shows. was released in October 2011. The book is a compilation of the best confessions sent to the show by listeners. Mayo's debut novel, ''Itch'', was released on 1 March 2012. The titular protagonist is a fourteen-year-old boy who discovers a previously unknown chemical element. ''The Guardian'' called it 'a great and thrilling book with an easy to read storyline that will help kids to understand elements!' His second novel ''Itch Rocks'' was released in February 2013 and the third instalment, ''Itchcraft'', came out in September 2014. His first young adult novel, ''Blame'', was published in July 2016. Mayo's first novel for adults, ''Mad Blood Stirring'', was published in April 2018 and received mixed reviews. It is a historical novel set in Dartmoor Prison in 1815. Clare Clarke, for ''The Guardian'', said: "With its huge, amorphous cast and little interior characterisation, its pages rich with Shakespeare’s poetry and the rousing gospel music for which Block 4 was reputedly renowned, the dialogue-heavy ''Mad Blood Stirring'' reads more like a first-draft film treatment than a finished novel. Mayo has served up all the ingredients he could find, but longer cooking would have given it greater depth and subtlety of flavour." The novelist John Boyne said: "Bristling with energy, written with passion, ''Mad Blood Stirring'' is a joy to read." In 2020 ''Knife Edge'', a first thriller for Mayo, was published. Its setting is drawn from his experiences when an undergraduate at Warwick University, and the denouement is in the neighbouring city of Coventry. The book was promoted as a ''Sunday Times'' Top 10 bestseller. ''Tick Tock'', a thriller based on a mysterious global illness, was published in 2022.

Radio credits

– ''The Simon Mayo Show'' 10:45am2pm, 19821986 *

: ** Saturday evenings 7:30pm9:30pm, 19861987 ** Weekend early mornings 6am8am, late 1987 ** MondayThursday evenings 7:30pm10pm, JanuaryMay 1988 ** Breakfast Show 6am9am, May 1988September 1993 ** Mid Morning Show 9am12 noon, October 1993February 2001 *

: ** Afternoon Show 1pm4pm, May 2001December 2009 **

Friday 2pm4pm, January 2010May 2019; 3pm5pm, May 2019March 2020, August 2021February 2022; 2:30pm4pm, March 2020August 2021, February 2022April 2022 *

: ** Album Chart Show Monday evenings 7pm8pm, October 2001April 2007 ** Music Club Monday nights/Tuesday overnight 11:30pm12:30am, April 2007April 2008 ** Drivetime Monday – Friday 5pm7pm, 11 January 20104 May 2018 **

& Simon Mayo – Monday – Thursday 5pm8pm; Friday 5pm7pm, 14 May 2018 21 December 2018 *

– ''Act Your Age'' 6:30pm, NovemberDecember 2008 *

: ** Monday – Saturday mid-mornings 10am1pm, 4 March 201926 February 2021 ** Essential Albums. Saturdays 3pm5pm, 3 April 2021 – present *

: ** Album Show. Sundays 1pm4pm, 6 September 2020 – present ** Drivetime Monday – Friday 4pm7pm, 15 March 2021 – present

Personal life

While at university, he was a presenter on the student radio station,

Radio Warwick RAW 1251AM is the student radio station at the University of Warwick and winner of the 2000 and 2003 BBC Radio 1 Student Radio Association Best Station awards. Formerly known as W963, during the years when broadcasts were conducted via an in ...

. In 2005 the university awarded him an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

. Mayo is married to Hilary Bird, who had worked at Radio Nottingham since 1984 on ''Action Line'', and also worked for

as a producer for Canon Roger Royle and later

Don Maclean Don Maclean (born 1942/1943) MBE KSS is an English actor and comedian, who appeared on the BBC television series '' Crackerjack'' with Michael Aspel, Peter Glaze and Jan Hunt in the 1970s. Born in Birmingham, he attended Clifton Road S ...

on ''Good Morning Sunday'' from 1987 to 1990. The wedding took place on Saturday 11 October 1986 at St Helen's Church in

Burton Joyce Burton Joyce is a large village and civil parish in the Gedling district of Nottinghamshire, England, 7 miles (11 km) east of Nottingham, between Stoke Bardolph to the south and Bulcote to the north-east. The A612 links it to Carlton an ...

, Nottinghamshire. They have two sons and a daughter. Mayo is a supporter of

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, and lives in London. Mayo was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.

References

External links

*
The Simon Mayo Drivetime Show on Greatest Hits Radio
(Greatest Hits Radio)
Simon Mayo: All Request Friday on Greatest Hits Radio
(Greatest Hits Radio)
Simon Mayo's Essential Albums on Scala Radio
(Scala Radio)
Simon Mayo: The Album Show on Greatest Hits Radio
(Greatest Hits Radio)
Kermode and Mayo's Take Official Website
from Radio Rewind's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Simon 1958 births Living people Alumni of the University of Warwick BBC Radio 1 presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters BBC Radio 5 Live presenters British radio DJs British writers English radio personalities People educated at Solihull School People educated at Worthing High School Members of the Order of the British Empire Top of the Pops presenters