Annie Mac Gets Radio 1 Weekend Show

BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac is to host a an afternoon show on the station, covering Sara Cox’s slot during her maternity leave.

She will be on air Saturdays and Sundays between 1pm and 4pm, with her first weekend shows on 23 and 24 February.

In further news, Nick Grimshaw is joining Radio 1 to front Switch (Sundays, 7pm-10pm) whilst Mac looks after weekends.

Nick has been a weekly contributor to Switch since the show started in October 2007 and co-hosts the BBC Two music show Sound with Mac.

Mac will continue to host her Friday evening Mash Up, on 9pm-11pm.

Mac said: “I am delighted to look after Sara’s show for her when she’s having baby number two. I think Sara is an exceptional presenter, and I just hope I do her show justice for her when she’s away.

I know that Switch is in safe hands with my mate Grimmy looking after it. He’s so funny on the radio and is properly passionate about new music. He’ll do a super job.”

Ben Cooper, head of programmes, Radio 1, said: “Everyone at Radio 1 wishes Sara all the best and we look forward to welcoming her back after her maternity leave. I’m very pleased that Annie is going to look after the show while Sara is away, she’s a great broadcaster and I know she’ll do a brilliant job.

“Nick has proven himself as part of the Radio 1 family and it’s very exciting that he’ll be hosting his own show during this period.”

The latest RAJAR figures, for Q3 2007, show that BBC Radio 1 had a weekly reach of almost 10.6 million listeners, down nearly 3% period on period, while its share of listening was up to over 10.5% (see BBC Radio 2 Boosts Weekly Reach To Over 13 Million Listeners Nation-Wide).

RAJAR figures for Q4 2007 are released on Thursday 31 January and NewsLine will be bringing you in-depth analysis of all the major stories.

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