1. Events
    January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December  Unknown 

2. Station debuts

3. Closing this year

4. Programme debuts

5. Continuing programmes
    1940s  1950s  1960s  1970s  1980s  1990s 

6. Ending this year

7. Deaths

8. See also

9. References

This is a list of events in British radio during 1999.

Events

January

• 3 January – On BBC Radio 2, David Jacobs introduces A Man and His Music, a one-hour television concert recorded in the 1960s.^[1]
• 22 January – Church leaders condemn Birmingham-based station BRMB's "Two Strangers and a Wedding" competition in which contestants entered a competition to get married to a complete stranger.^[2] The winners, Greg Cordell and Carla Germaine were married at a Registry Office in the city, but the couple were separated three months later.^[3] Germaine later met and married BRMB disc jockey Jeremy Kyle.^[4]
• January –
  • Choice FM is taken over by the Chrysalis Group, which later renames Choice FM Birmingham Galaxy 102.2.
  • London's dance/urban station Kiss 100 is rebranded by EMAP Radio with a new logo. Mainstream pop music is played on the station for the first time which leads to criticism from some DJs and listeners.

February

• No events.

March

• No events.

April

• 26 April – Radio 2 presenter Johnnie Walker is suspended from his drivetime show after allegations concerning a drug problem appeared in the Sunday tabloid, the News of the World. Walker has been the victim of a tabloid exposé over his cocaine problem.^[5] Richard Allinson presents the drivetime show during Walker's absence, while Tom Robinson stands in on his Saturday afternoon show.
• April – Radio Regen is launched in Manchester to provides training in community radio.

May

• 24 May – Radio 2 says that presenter Sarah Kennedy is taking a week's holiday because of stress following a bizarre performance while standing in for Terry Wogan the previous Friday. This had included calling Ken Bruce an "old fool" and referring to the presenter of the day's Pause For Thought slot as "an old prune". The episode attracted a number of concerned calls to the BBC, while Kennedy blames the incident on a lack of sleep the previous night and apologises to listeners. She had been due to stand in for Wogan the following week, but takes time off instead.^[6]

June

• June – Launch of Sky News Radio, a service providing bespoke bulletins for Talk Radio.
• 18 June – Des Lynam presents his last Friday evening show on Radio 2.^[7]

July

• 2 July – Ed Stewart presents his final weekday afternoon show on Radio 2.^[8]
• 3 July – Jonathan Ross joins Radio 2 to present a Saturday morning show.^[9]
• 5 July – Steve Wright in the Afternoon returns to radio after a break of several years as Steve Wright replaces Ed Stewart as Radio 2's weekday afternoon presenter.^[10]

August

• 2 August – It is announced that ITV has signed BBC sports presenter Des Lynam on a four-year contract to become the company's main football presenter.^[11] This means he will no longer present his Friday drivetime show on Radio 2.

September

• 11 September – BBC Radio 3's breakfast programme On Air is renamed Morning on 3.^[12]
• 13 September – Late Junction is broadcast on BBC Radio 3 for the first time.^[13]
• 19 September – The first edition of a new Sunday evening advice programme called The Sunday Surgery is broadcast on BBC Radio 1.^[14]

October

• 14 October – Managers at Radio 2 reinstate Johnnie Walker after he is fined £2,000 by magistrates for admitting possession of cocaine.^[15]

November

• 15 November – Britain's first national commercial DAB digital radio multiplex, Digital One, goes on air to England, and parts of Scotland and Wales - D1 did not become available in Northern Ireland until 2013. The stations carried on D1 at launch include the three national commercial AM/FM services – Classic FM, Virgin Radio (now Absolute) and Talk Radio UK (now talkSPORT) – along with two new digital-first stations – fresh pop service Core and classic rock station Planet Rock, both then under the ownership of Classic FM's then parent (and Digital One shareholder) GWR Group.

December

• 5 December – Despite having been banned by many radio stations, and panned by critics, Cliff Richard's single The Millennium Prayer – which features Richard singing the words of the Lord's Prayer to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" – reaches number one in the UK charts.
• 6 December – Johnnie Walker returns to Radio 2.^[16]
• 17 December – Britain's first million pounds prize is given away, on a segment of Chris Evans's Virgin breakfast show called Someone's Going to be a Millionaire (a reference to ITV's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which at the time has not had a million pound winner).

Unknown

• BBC Radio 1 broadcasts its first split programming when it introduces weekly national new music shows for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The programmes are broadcast on a three-weekly rotational basis in England. The station also establishes its Live Lounge as part of the mid-morning show.

Station debuts

• 1 February – Mansfield 103.2
• 8 February – FLR 107.3
• 20 March – Tower FM
• 3 May – Telford FM
• 18 June – Sky News Radio
• 26 June – Fire 107.6
• 24 July – 106.8 Lite FM
• 30 August –
  • Wave 102
  • The Revolution
• 5 September – SouthCity FM
• 19 September – 107.4 The Quay
• 3 October –
  • Fen Radio 107.5
  • Ridings FM
  • Win 107.2
• 7 November – Yorkshire Coast Radio Bridlington
• 15 November –
  • Core Radio
  • Planet Rock
  • Bath FM
• 19 November –
  • Beat 106
  • 107 The Edge
• 1 December – South Hams Radio

Closing this year

• 22 May –
  • Goldbeat (1995–1999)
  • Heartbeat 1521 (1996–1999)

Programme debuts

• 11 February – It's Been a Bad Week on BBC Radio 2 (1999–2006)
• 3 July – Jonathan Ross on BBC Radio 2 (1999–2010)
• 5 July – Steve Wright in the Afternoon on BBC Radio 2 (1981–1993, 1999–Present)
• 12 November – The Attractive Young Rabbi on BBC Radio 4 (1999–2002)

Continuing programmes

1940s

• Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
• Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
• Letter from America (1946–2004)
• Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
• A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

1950s

• The Archers (1950–Present)
• The Today Programme (1957–Present)
• Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
• Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

1960s

• Farming Today (1960–Present)
• The World at One (1965–Present)
• The Official Chart (1967–Present)
• Just a Minute (1967–Present)
• The Living World (1968–Present)
• The Organist Entertains (1969–2018)

1970s

• PM (1970–Present)
• Start the Week (1970–Present)
• You and Yours (1970–Present)
• I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–Present)
• Good Morning Scotland (1973–Present)
• Newsbeat (1973–Present)
• The News Huddlines (1975–2001)
• File on 4 (1977–Present)
• Money Box (1977–Present)
• The News Quiz (1977–Present)
• Feedback (1979–Present)
• The Food Programme (1979–Present)
• Science in Action (1979–Present)

1980s

• In Business (1983–Present)
• Sounds of the 60s (1983–Present)
• Loose Ends (1986–Present)

1990s

• The Moral Maze (1990–Present)
• Essential Selection (1991–Present)
• No Commitments (1992–2007)
• The Pepsi Chart (1993–2002)
• Wake Up to Wogan (1993–2009)
• Essential Mix (1993–Present)
• Up All Night (1994–Present)
• Wake Up to Money (1994–Present)
• Private Passions (1995–Present)
• Parkinson's Sunday Supplement (1996–2007)
• The David Jacobs Collection (1996–2013)
• Westway (1997–2005)
• The 99p Challenge (1998–2004)
• Puzzle Panel (1998–2005)
• Drivetime with Johnnie Walker (1998–2006)
• Sunday Night at 10 (1998–2013)
• In Our Time (1998–Present)
• Material World (1998–Present)
• Scott Mills (1998–Present)
• The Now Show (1998–Present)

Ending this year

• 28 January – World of Pub (1998–1999)
• 25 February – Blue Jam (1997–1999)
• 30 March – Chambers (1996–1999)
• 25 May – Julie Enfield Investigates (1994–1999)
• 18 June – Des Lynam (1998–1999)

Deaths

• 10 March – Adrian Love, 54, radio presenter^[17]

See also

• 1999 in British music
• 1999 in British television
• 1999 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1999

References

• OXV: The Manual
• Ox-Wagon Sentinels
• Oxxxymiron
• Oxya
• Oxyacanthus sativus
• Oxyacanthus uva-crispa
• Oxy-acid
• Oxyacids
• Oxyaenid
• Oxyalcia mira
• Oxyalkylation
• Oxyartes (insect)
• Oxya yezoensis
• Oxybaphus elegans
• Oxybelini
• Oxybelus
• Oxybelus bipunctatus
• Oxybelus cressonii
• Oxybelus emarginatus
• Oxybelus uniglumis
• Oxy (brand)
• Oxybrycon parvulus
• Oxycarbide glass
• Oxycarboxin
• Oxycarenidae