Radio 2 why so dumbed down

[Parsley1234]

I cannot stand the relentless drivel that is Zoe Ball oh my god yesterday Stacey Soloman and her diatribe of awfulness and now replacing Graham Norton with Claudia just why ? I am Mrs Brady moany old lady for sure what else can I listen to 🥴

I loved Sara Cox in her late evening slot, warm, sparky and amusing, also when she did cover for the breakfast show, and then they gave it to Zoe... and she got drive time and went all in jokes and silly voices

Zoe can bore off about the menopause and your varifocals love, and do at least TRY to learn how interviews and conversations work.

I'd give Rylan the breakfast slot, then Ken, then Vanessa...cannot bear her normal show, but she is great as a stand in for Jeremy Vine ..the PP is right he is a pure unadulteratered Daily Mail, lowest common denominator hack.

JV and Wrighty can go to hell, Craig Charles and or ooooohGaryDavis can do afternoon and if Claudia gives up her nonsense she could have the Drivetime. Or Jo Wiley....maybe she'd be best.

I was going to ask how to get Virgin radio through a smart TV? Is it only available through subscription to Virgin Media? I liked Graham Norton on the radio, never watch his TV show. Could not bear Chris Evans on any medium though I understand he is a good friend in real life. I am afraid familiarality with Claudia Winkleman has bred contempt. Totally disingenuous about being disingenuous in my opinion. When I tried to listen to Zoe Ball she always sounded on the edge of panic. But then I also disliked Terry Wogan's affability so there's no pleasing me. I happened to go to bed at 4 am the other day and heard poor Vanessa just beginning her show, we are the same age and it made me glad to be on benefits.

It seems the bosses of Radio 2 have sent out an edict to push the station as a 'Family' place. I only listen to snippets now when in the kitchen but they all seem to be constantly making family references. Did anyone hear the concerted blitz on everyone feeling joy at children going back to school a few weeks ago? I bet quite a few of the presenters were just glad to be out of earshot of their own kids let alone slobbering over other peoples'.

I think the weekends are really strong although I have switched to Virgin on weekend mornings for Graham's show so haven't heard Claudia. Love Rylan, Liza and Paul O'Grady. Like Michael Ball although he can get a bit patronising and seems to be everywhere at the moment! I like the music Elaine P plays but find her annoying, very theatrical!
In the week Jo Whiley is brilliant, so natural and cool, she's really been a comfort over the past year. Don't tend to listen first thing but I don't mind Zoe. Ken is fine, nice voice! Enjoy Jeremy but I find it a bit distracting when I'm working. Steve is fine. Sara is lovely and warm but slightly giddy for my preference sometimes although I can't dislike her at all. Love the country show too when that's on!

Ken Bruce is the absolute backbone of Radio 2 and the best thing on it.

Great humour and really knows and respects the music. His voice is just right and he manages to construct sentences without using ‘like’ every other word.

( Unlike Steve fucking Wright who talks or sings over the best bits of any given track.)

There has to be a place for proper old school Radio 2. All the experiments and tinkering just don’t work.

Johnnie Walker is great on Sounds of the 70s but I loved when he did Drive Time. From memory I think he stopped doing that when he was having cancer treatment?

Alan Carr should never be allowed near a microphone. His voice is physically painful to listen to.

Tony Blackburn should never have been removed from Pick of the Pops. His voice is excellent. So enthusiastic, articulate and knowledgeable. Gambaccini is for serious documentaries!

If they remove Ken that will be the end of Radio 2 for me and I suspect millions of listeners.

I can't stand Vanessa Feltz.

Ingratiating, verbose and sounds like she's doing the 0400-0630 show through gritted teeth.

I only listen to her as at 0400, R2 is the only game in town.

Many commercial stations are on 'automatic', with no live DJ, traffic or time checks.

My local radio stations have been taken over by Bauer (Greatest Hits, Hits or Free) and BBC Local radio is Radio 5 Live until 0500.

It is Jesus Christ dire.

Zoe Ball and Sara Cox are great. JV can be really irritating. Feltz needs something more heavyweight. Do not go near Ken.

If we're going to use former Radio 1 djs for retro slots bring back Geoff Young (dance and hip hop pre that prat Westwood).

I love Gary Davies’ Sounds of the 80s and Liza Tarbuck. I listen on the Sounds app due to the time difference. I listen to Liza when I’m baking and I love the music she plays.

Pauline! Where’s that cloth?

Radio UKIP.

Terry's Old Racists.

Jimmy Old-Vine's Racist Lunchtime phone-in from behind the wanky semen-stained net curtains of middle England.

Johnnie Walker-Frame's Sounds of 60 Years Ago.

Sally (the 25 is full of feckless immigrants today) Traffic.

Naga Munchetty on radio 5 live. She does 10-1 at the start of the week Monday to Wed (I think it’s Wed!). She’s fantastic. She’s followed by Nihal in the afternoon slot and he’s pretty good too.

Actually I love Mel and Alan in the summer time when they take over Graham Norton's slot (will they do it this summer I wonder?). They are really giggly and I find it infectious.

Someone upthread said they didn't get the love for Ken. I'd say it is a hard thing to define but he seems empathetic and he has that magic radio voice which connects and isn't forced. It's if he's talking to an actual listener and it's you.

I think I like Jeremy because he's bang on my age. The minute R2 shifts radically from my demographic I reckon he'll be gone!

And I love Gary Davies more than I did in the 80's. He's become a broadcaster, not just a DJ.

I am very geeky about radio. I used to work in local radio so have heard it all!!

@twilightcafe I like you too !

And boast away! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I can do without Carrie and David on Saturday mornings - or Jason Rosam anytime (bring back Petrie) - on BBC Radio London but the rest are brilliant. Rob & Vanessa are my absolute favourites.

Also partial to Craig Charles et al on 6Music on a Saturday night.

I have the Ken love. He talks to you. He's witty and knowledgable, and easy to dip in and out of as you go about your business. To borrow from Terry Wogan, you feel like his Other Listener, and few of the upcoming presenters have that skill.

Like JV (depending on topics) Gary Davies, Craig Charles, Jo Willey (now she's back in the format that suits her), Johnnie Walker, Michael Ball, OJ Borg.
I can listen to Ferne Cotton and Steve Wright. Sara Cox is background noise. I like Trevor Nelson although his genre isn't my favourite and what I want to listen to at that time.

Most of the weekend is a turn off. Zoe is a turn off. I've had one morning this week of walking in at 9.20 putting the radio on before Ken bfore turning it off swearing at the smunt doing pause for thought, then having to remember to put Ken on.

I don't like gabbling, mumbling and gasping for breath and a lot of the newer presenters fall foul of that. Some just need to slow down so they can be heard rather than churning word soup.
Some like Gragam Norton suit TV better than radio.

I like Gary Davies and Trevor Nelson he plays some great music. Zoe just seems to play late 70s early 80s music which is not what I want to listen to. I like my local radio on the way to work.

How did I forget to mention Jo Whiley intelligent interesting and interested and beautiful Pail Ogrady who is funny charming sweet and observant all in one. Radio 2 seems determined to cram in as many women as possible who are breathy and matey as possible just stop

Sean keveney on radio 6 PM is dire so many bloody awful jingles but the music is ok. Finding good radio when wfh is hard but I do like robert elms on radio london.

I think I realised how enormously and effortlessly good Ken Bruce is when I heard Trevor Nelson mangling Popmaster.

Liza Turbucks Turbucks shows is fab

[quote YellowandGreenToBeSeen]@twilightcafe I like you too !

And boast away! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I can do without Carrie and David on Saturday mornings - or Jason Rosam anytime (bring back Petrie) - on BBC Radio London but the rest are brilliant. Rob & Vanessa are my absolute favourites.

Also partial to Craig Charles et al on 6Music on a Saturday night.[/quote]
I used to like Jo Good and Simon Lederer on Saturday mornings. Simon is superb, an excellent listener and distills arguments in a very clear way.

I can't warm to Petrie. I dont mind Jason.

I used to really hate Elaine Paige's Amateur Hour ( or whatever it was called) ...
"Ooooooooooooooklahomaaaaa.... It'll be a beautiful morning when St Zoom's Musical Society put on this wonderful show in the church hall on Saturday. Expect some fun and laughter and lots of surprises..." Nope, same old.

The "Break a Leg" segments Fuzzy. I used to turn the volume down.

Apparently it's meant to be rolling, so you always have music from the last 40 years or so.

I like all the speciality programmes they seem to be axing — Claire Teal was the latest, shuffled to a later slot, then programme length halved, then gone. I used to like Desmond Carrington too, with a themed programme each week.

I'm seriously concerned for Friday Night is Music Night post-lockdown, how many other live orchestral shows are there?

I love Paul O'Grady (and Malcolm!), and Michael Ball. Zoe sounds like she's had a lot of coffee.

I do know Desmond has died, so couldn't exactly carry on! I just liked a more relaxed programme, the new ones are all very enthusiastic.

Zoe Ball is stuck in a late 1980s/ early 1990s club scene time warp. It’s painful to listen to her.

I like Zoe's show and love Sara cox and Ken Bruce.

Can't stand Steve Wright though - that show is well past it's prime and the constant singing over songs drives me mad.

Couldn't stand Graham Norton and turned that over if I was in that car on a Saturday morning. Also can't stand Vanessa Felts. She is so patronising!

It depends on the subjects for Jeremy vine.

@j712adrian

Radio UKIP.

Terry's Old Racists.

Jimmy Old-Vine's Racist Lunchtime phone-in from behind the wanky semen-stained net curtains of middle England.

Johnnie Walker-Frame's Sounds of 60 Years Ago.

Sally (the 25 is full of feckless immigrants today) Traffic.

WEre you having a funny turn at 4 in the morning adrian? You can say you dislike R2 without being so unpleasant.

I can’t stand Zoe “errrrmmmmm, beeooodiful, beeooodiful” Ball. It’s like she’s trying to be cool but then chucks in references to her hormones all the time.

I like Sara Cox. I think Rylan is a calculating fake and his mum is irritatingly thick.

Ken Bruce is genuinely witty. I’m glad Lyn Bowles has gone, though, as she used to make me want to rip my own face off.

Gary Davies is really likeable. Steve Wright isn’t very bright, and his sidekicks are even worse; that other bloke is just thick!

Elaine Paige’s stupid gurgle giggle makes me feel sick.

Michael Ball is adorable.

Jo Wiley is very calming but her music is too cool for me. Cerys Matthews has a lovely voice.

I don’t like Vanessa, but still tend to agree with everything she says, which leaves me a bit conflicted.

I hate the evening music on R2. Whenever I switch it on when I’m loading the dishwasher or making packed lunches at night, it always seems to be some experimental Icelandic whale folk music.