The dire state of Radio 2

[LindorDoubleChoc]

I want to cry about how awful Radio 2 is!

Just listening to Paddy McGuinness (who is not my favourite, I'll admit) and he is doing "embarrassing things you didn't know" - for the eleventy millionth time on that station. People phoning in and saying about the petrol cap sign on the dashboard, the tin foil roll - we have heard this all before. It is so SO SO VERY DULL. Please - what can be done to improve it? It's like baby food for the brain.

As I have a well-documented phobia about Gary Davies I am barely listening to R2 these days and I'm wondering if now is the time to call it a day forever?

I would hardly call Beth Ditto ‘obscure’. Have you never heard of Gossip? I would imagine they would be familiar to any 6Music listener as ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ was heavily played.

Although Beth Ditto is an acquired taste, I do like that 6Music uses real musicians as DJs: Cerys Matthews, Iggy Pop, Guy Harvey and Don Leets, Lauren Laverne are all great. And now Jarvis Cocker is rejoining which will be wonderful.

I think you're exactly right here @DisforDarkChocolate. I think there are a lot of us natural R2 listeners who have nowhere to go right now. I really miss the constant background noise of the radio in my life and sometimes the silence in the house just echoes around me. But I cannot listen to Gary Davies or Jeremy Vine so ... it is what it is.

Richie was odd tonight. He’s actually copying Sara and it’s bizarre. I hope he’s not the next drivetime if he’s going to keep on with that!

Podcasts are way superior to radio drivel.

It’s horrific. Banal and pointless. Shame.

I thought exactly the same! He was parroting her phrases and talking style completely. It was really weird. . Will have to learn how to retune the radio at last if he gets the show as I listen to it daily.

I’m a northerner and can’t stand Paddy. He’s embarrassing us.

I noticed that too! Please god not Richie - quite how he ever got the R2 gig in the first place is beyond me. The other travel presenter (Ellie someone?) also seems to have been parachuted in from nowhere and is a pita - not nearly as funny as she thinks she is.

I like Sara Cox, Gary Davies, and Rylan in small doses - but more and more I'm switching over to other stations.

Wasn’t it odd. He kept trying to copy Sara’s phrases and style, so unnatural and weird to listen to, I hope he cringed listening to it back and vowed never to do that again 😅

Ellie is awful to listen to too

Oh God no, please don't let him take the show over and act daft like Sara. I like Richie, but not copying her. I can't wait for her to be gone, when I will then tune into Greg James in the mornings.

Ellie always makes me smirk with her travel news when she tells us what is partially blocked and what is congested. It's her nose!

I agree entirely with the dumbing down and treating us all like morons. Same with presenters. Virtually every presenter talks and dresses they are entertaining children regardless of what show it is.

There are so many comedians as well.

There are two and they have other presenting gigs on TV.

I have to admit I'm really sick of Gary Davies now. I tend to listen to 6 music at the weekends (miss Liza Tarbuck). I don't mind Sara Cox, I hope she'll be good at breakfast time. Please R2 don't give Richie a show, he's a nice guy but just no. I like Trevor Nelson, he's a proper DJ.
My favourite is the Jo Whiley show as I love the music, and find out about new acts that I like too.

I changed to Radio 4 because of this kind of utter drivel. I remember people discussing their plans for New Year's Eve, which when they phoned in were mostly utterly tedious and inane, plus the "I'm sat in my car..." was the last straw.

The songs they play are obscure and dreadful

Its actually inexplicable what they all play

I don’t think the songs could be called “obscure” and there are more than 2 comedians when you look at the very regular stand ins.

I think they’re gearing up to give Richie a show. The day Ellie gets one will be switch over day for me absolutely.

Regarding the Bolton thing - I'm from up north and find SC, VK and PM irritating, especially the latter. I think a lot of media exes assume everyone north of Crewe is loud and "cheeky", and that audiences find this attractive. God knows why.

It's depressing too that Radio 2 (and quite a few commercial stations, TBF) seem to prefer bussing in celebs with no radio background rather than identify/nurturing talent from elsewhere in the industry.

6 Music always feels rather pleased with itself these days. I generally listen to Boom Radio for its breadth of music choice - although most of it is 60s/70s/80s, they do play some genuinely obscure stuff rather than big hits.

I gave up R2 a few years ago (when Zoe Ball got the breakfast show and Steve Wright was dumped off the afternoon show). I'm an Absolute 80s listener when I'm driving now. I commend the Absolute channels (there's one for every 'age group'.

The thing I really like most about R2, which I have found the commercial channels are not so good at, is the variety of music. Plenty from the 70s onwards but also has a bunch of current stuff so I don't miss out entirely. Do any other channels achieve that?

I agree Trevor Nelson is a proper DJ and don't switch him off, but my issue is that his music taste doesn't align with mine, he doesn't play enough rock! I like his 5 seconds to name feature and when he chats to callers, he actually listens and converses (unlike Vernon whose interviewing style is awful).

Bloody Ritchie's main music love seems to be the Spice Girls.

Paddy McGuiness, Ellie Taylor, Joel Dommett, Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Beckett, Josh Widdecombe - I know some of those are cover or no longer on. Then those who think they're comedians like Vernon Kay, Ellie Brennan, Sara Cox and Sally Boazman, some of whom aren't even show presenters. It's getting to be the radio equivalent of the Comedy Channel.

What seems like a hundred years ago there were loads of comedy shows on the radio. Stuff like Hancock's Half Hour, Barry Took, the stuff my grandparents liked. There should be a channel for this, as comedy seems so popular.

And all the listeners joining in with everyone being gawjus ...

Comedy on Radio 2 is try hard and I don't like it. Stick with music and incidental comedy and create a separate channel.

Clearly not the radio station for you. Sally doesn't think she's a comedian. She's unintentionally funny - like the time she called that pretentious Damian Lewis's song a dirge and he was there. She was right btw.

I don't agree it's not the radio station for me. It is, in parts. I choose the shows where there's no arsing around. Jo Whiley, Shaun Keaveny, Cerys Matthews, Pick of the Pops, Trevor Nelson etc.

I listen to lots of other stations too but again only the shows I want to hear.

I don't agree about Sally. She really does look for opportunities to be a comedian, or a satirist.

Beth won an ARIA award last week for her show.

Listen to Radio 4 instead?