UK

Richard Maddock has been named Head of 5 Live, taking responsibility for 5 Live, 5 Sports Extra, the new Sounds sports streams, and Sports Extra 2 and 3.

Heidi Dawson will expand her role to Head of the North of England, focusing on strategic engagement and growth while continuing as Controller of 5 Live.
In the newly created role, Maddock will lead the station during an eighteen-month transition, maintaining continuity and driving innovation as Dawson focuses on her expanded strategic responsibilities.
He will start the role on 1 December, bringing extensive experience from more than a decade at 5 Live, where he has been Commissioning Editor since 2013.
In that role, he managed live programming and over thirty podcasts, working closely with both BBC teams and independent producers.
Before joining the BBC, he spent over twenty years in commercial radio, including senior leadership positions at Bauer Media.
On his appointment, Maddock said: “Having been at the station for twelve years and working closely with programme teams both inside the BBC and within the independent production sector, I know how creative, passionate, and dedicated they all are.
“I’m really looking forward to what is an exciting next eighteen months for 5 Live and Sports Extra and I’m delighted to be able to help keep the network driving forward.”

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Cornwall’s Rewind Radio recently held its inaugural Cornwall’s Heroes Awards, celebrating individuals and organisations making extraordinary contributions across the region.

The event took place at Tregenna Castle for listeners, community groups, nominees, winners, families, and sponsors.
Honours included Tigger Pritchard as Diversity & Inclusion Advocate, Donna Bird-Mills as Local Business Leader, and Cornwall StreetVet winning the Team Spirit award.
Jan Burns received the Unsung Hero title, while Chloe Scott was named Young Sports Personality.
Jago Ford was recognised twice, receiving both the Fundraising Hero and Courage Awards, and Man Down Cornwall collected the Health & Wellbeing Hero accolade.
Tom French was celebrated with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Mark Norton received the Memorial Award and was named Winner of Winners.
Other winners included Katie Laundon (Volunteer of the Year), Keira Blight and Carly Flannagan (Carers Award), Louisa Inch (Environmental & Sustainability Advocate), Charlotte Cree (Future Star), Glennie McKinley (Community Champion), and Reuben Whittle (Child of Courage).
One of the evening’s most moving moments came when Sam and Emma, the children of the late Mark Norton, collected the Winner of Winners award.
Cornwall’s Rewind Radio Managing Director Richard Woods said: “The night showcased the amazing people we have in Cornwall. The atmosphere was electric, and the emotions were high.”
Following the event’s success, Cornwall’s Rewind Radio confirmed two major 2026 events: the Cornwall’s Rewind Radio Business Awards on 22 May and the Cornwall’s Heroes Awards on 23 October.
Helen Snowden, Head of Events, said: “These awards will continue to showcase not just our listeners but also our amazing businesses.”

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Boom Radio’s Christmas schedule this year includes a broad mix of special festive programmes alongside its regular output.

The Boom Christmas Countdown airs on Christmas Eve from 10.00am, with Rob Jones and Peter Quinn presenting the four-hour rundown of listener-voted favourites.
Garry Richardson marks the sixtieth anniversary of The Sound of Music on Christmas Day at 7.00pm with a programme recorded in Salzburg, featuring film music and an interview with Angela Cartwright. Don Black presents a collection of festive melodies on Christmas Eve at 8.00pm.
Dana celebrates fifty years of her hit It’s Gonna Be a Cold, Cold Christmas on Christmas Eve at 9.00pm, sharing memories and music from her home in Galway. Les Ross will be on air across Christmas lunch at midday, while Nina Myskow reflects on music and stories at 5.00pm.
David Hamilton and his wife Dreena host Christmas at the Hamiltons on Boxing Day at 4.00pm. Other seasonal highlights include Paul Robey’s Children’s Favourites on 28th December, Simon Bates’s Beatles Covers on 29th December, and Tony Brandon’s return to radio at 4.00pm the same day after twenty years away.
Motown Interpreted airs at 8.00pm on 29th December, with Mike Read’s Hidden Gems on 30th December and Clare Teal later that evening.
David Lloyd presents Into 2026 from 10.00pm on New Year’s Eve, while New Year’s Day features The Boom All Time Chart at midday and Steve England’s World of Radio at 8.00pm.
ITV at 70 is on Boxing Day at 8.00pm, and Boom Light marks eighty years of the BBC Light Programme on Christmas Day at 5.00pm with David Hamilton sharing memories of the era.

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The APAs, sponsored by Audible, revealed the winners at a gala event this evening at the BFI on London’s South Bank.

Remel London, Broadcaster and Founder of the Mainstream was this year’s host.
Organised by AudioUK, the APAs recognise excellence across podcasting and audio, covering podcasts, audiobooks, sound design, radio, presenting and more.
Among this year’s winners were the team at Fix Radio behind The Bald Builders Breakfast, who took gold in the Entertainment category, and newcomers Becky and Ben Saer, who won Ensemble Cast/Presenting Team for Becky and Ben’s Fertility Spotlight.
The Drama and Fiction award went to Penny4 for supernatural thriller Up in Smoke, while We Are Grape won the Music category for Pete Tong’s Essential History Of Dance.
Three new categories were introduced for 2025.
Wajid Yaseen and Steve Urquhart of Modus Arts won the History category with Tape Letters Scotland, a project documenting the cassette-tape messages shared by Pakistani migrants who settled in the UK between 1960 and 1980.
RAW/Audible won True Crime for Cursed, presented by Femi Oke, who also collected gold in Presenter/Host.
The QueerAF Podcast & Trans+ History Week won the Changemaker Award for its six-part mini-documentary series exploring gender-diverse communities throughout history.
In the new-talent categories, Scout Tzofiya Bolton from the Prison Radio Association won New Voice, while Mia Thornton from BBC Sounds Audio Lab and Reform Radio took gold for New Producer.
Bella Soames of DMG Media was named Producer of the Year, Prison Radio Association won Production Company of the Year, and Fix Radio was named Publisher/Network of the Year.
The AudioUK Award went to Crossed Wires Festival for championing the UK podcast and audio sector.
AudioUK CEO Chloe Straw praised the breadth of creators recognised this year and highlighted the importance of celebrating both established and emerging talent.
She thanked Audible as lead sponsor, Amazon Music for supporting the Pay What You Can scheme, industry partners, sponsors, the AudioUK Board and executive, and the team behind the awards led by Katie Banham.
She added that the opportunity within the industry is greater than ever and encouraged creators to take advantage of it.

The APAs from AudioUK
Winners 2025

Entertainment
GOLD – Jack Edwards, Travis Glossop, Demi Bell, Brogan Hubber and Toby Penman – Fix Radio
SILVER – Ewan Newbigging-Lister – JamPot Productions
BRONZE – Katie Boden – TBI Media
Nominees
Helena Webb – BBC Audio
Jemima Rathbone – JamPot Productions
Dino Sofos, Caillin McDaid, Will Gibson Smith and Flossie Barrett – Persephonica
Rory Powers and Kit Grier Mulvenna – This Paranormal Life

Branded Content
GOLD – Natalie Steed – Rhubarb Rhubarb
SILVER – Sam Taylor – Prison Radio Association
BRONZE – Podcast Team – National Trust
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Ollie Guillou – OG Podcasts & The Guernsey Alzheimer’s Association
Nominees
Fresh Air
Ollie Wilson, Kat Hutcheson, Nia Deo, Charlie Murrell, Rahnee Prescod – Sony Music Podcasts

Little Ears
GOLD – Cole Stopnik – Independent Podcaster
SILVER – Laura Hyde – Chalk & Blade
BRONZE – Jack Whitney, Chloe McLaren, James Trusson, Adam Devenney, Kathleen Moroney, Polly Evans, Ravina Bajwa and Georgie Britton – Natural History Museum, Forever Audio and Tonies
Nominees
Gill Davies, Claire O’Gallagher and Derek Farrell – GDP/BBC Scotland Learning
Krishna Murali – The Fourth Bookmark, Independent Podcast
Morwenna Rose – The Book of Arralan

Arts and Culture Sponsored by London Podcast Festival
GOLD – Chris Mitchell – Breaking Atoms and Sumit Sharma – Unedited
SILVER – Tony Phillips and Axel Kacoutié – Sea Salt and Mango
BRONZE – Sam Tyler – Freelance
Nominees
Meg Elliot – BBC Sounds Audio Lab / Overcoat Media
Meera Kumar – Freelance
Wajid Yaseen and Steve Urquhart – Modus Arts

Lifestyle and Society
GOLD – Suzi Dale & Micky Curling – Story Publishing
SILVER – Laura Grimshaw and Jon Holmes – unusual
BRONZE – Hugh Sheehan – BBC Sounds Audio Lab / Reduced Listening
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Krishna Murali – The Fourth Bookmark, Independent Podcast
Nominees
Rich Le Gate – Inbetween Man
Ollie Brookes, James Wilson, Faye Dunn and Arthur Hagues – Prison Radio Association

New Voice sponsored by BBC Sounds
GOLD – Scout Tzofiya Bolton – Prison Radio Association
SILVER – Dr. Emma Nagouse – Lead Mojo Productions
BRONZE – Naomi Bloomstein – Freelance
Nominees
Siddharth Khajuria – Falling Tree ProductionsAjay Tegala – National Trust
Anna Sinfield – Novel

Comedy
GOLD – Jon Holmes – unusual
SILVER – Ollie Wilson, Charlie Murrell, Nia Deo, Rahnee Prescod – Sony Music Podcasts
BRONZE – Lauren Mackay – BBC Scotland
Nominees
Dave Masterman, Michael Dale and Bertie Moores – Audio Always
Ed Morrish – Lead Mojo Productions
Rory Powers and Kit Grier Mulvenna – This Paranormal Life

Audiobook
GOLD – Kate MacDonald – Freelance
SILVER – Rosemary O’Dowd – Penguin Random House
BRONZE – Liam Gerrard – Raconteurs Audio
NomineesNicola Wall, Oliver Grant and Yuki Parmar – Audible
Chris Thompson – Penguin Random House
Nicola Alexandrou – The Guardian

Drama and Fiction
GOLD – Guy Larsen, Cambria Bailey-Jones, Gabriela Jones and Dan Pugsley – Penny4
SILVER – Emma Stephens & Bernard P Achampong – Unedited
BRONZE – Nicolas Jackson – Afonica
NomineesTracey Neale – BBC Studios
Max Blair and Mark McKibbin – Blackabbey Productions
Hat Trick Productions / Audible

Factual/Documentary sponsored by Great Big Story
GOLD – Bella Soames – DMG Media
SILVER – Chalk & Blade/ Audible
BRONZE – Timur Dzhafarov and Cicely Fell – Falling Tree Productions
Nominees
Blanchard House
Becky Lipscombe and Isobel Cockerell, Coda Story
Leigh Meyer, Amalie Sortland, Josephine Wheeler and Nicholas Alexander – Novel

History
GOLD – Wajid Yaseen and Steve Urquhart – Modus Arts
SILVER – Joe Dunthorne and Eleanor McDowall – Falling Tree Productions
BRONZE – Hugh Sheehan – BBC Sounds Audio Lab / Reduced Listening
Nominees
Ruth Abrahams, Carole Cadwalladr and Peter Jukes – Project Citizen
Production Team – StoryHunter
TellTale Industries and Antica Productions

Sound Design
GOLD – Scout Tzofiya Bolton, Andrew Wilkie, Ellen Orchard, Micky Curling and Phil Maguire – Prison Radio Association
SILVER – Phoebe McIndoe – Falling Tree Productions
BRONZE – Esa Williams – RAW/Audible
Nominees
Nicholas Alexander – NovelAlice Boyd and Joy Nkoyo – Peanut & Crumb
Ivan d’Avoine, Derick Armah – Transmission Roundhouse

Music sponsored by Morley Radio
GOLD – Matt Healy, Katie Fox, Jojo Jones, Joe Gardner, Rachel Barton and Pete Tong – We Are Grape
SILVER – Lady Unchained and Arthur Hagues – Prison Radio Association
BRONZE – Silas Gray – Reduced Listening
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Tom Whalley – Freelance
Nominees
Matthew Bannister and Natalie Steed – Folk on Foot
Ollie Braddy. Jojo Jones, Matt Healy and Sarah Story – We Are Grape

Changemaker Award sponsored by The Podcast Show
GOLD – QueerAF podcast with Trans+ History Week
SILVER – Wild Tales – National Trust
BRONZE – Tommy Kennedy, Claire Offley and Fran Reynolds – Carousel
NomineesTash Walker and Adam Zmith – Aunt Nell
Short Cuts – Falling Tree Productions
Outside In – Prison Radio Association

Narrator
GOLD – Charlotte Ritchie – Nosy Crow
SILVER – Ella Kenion – Bonnier Books UK
BRONZE – Poppy Mae Barrett – HarperCollins Publishers
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Maxim Reston – White House Sound/Hodder & Stoughton
Nominees
Harriet Walter – HarperCollins Publishers
Dan Jones – Sony Music Podcasts

Presenter/Host sponsored by Everybody Media
GOLD – Femi Oke – RAW/Audible
SILVER – Joe Dunthorne – Falling Tree Productions
BRONZE – Jerry Brotton – Whistledown Productions
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Krishna Murali – The Fourth Bookmark, Independent Podcast
NomineesDanny Robins – Bafflegab Productions/ Uncanny Media
Niall Breslin – Chalk & Blade/Audible

News/Politics
GOLD – Ruth Abrahams, Carole Cadwalladr and Peter Jukes – Project Citizen
SILVER – Christopher Pitt, Stephen Carroll, Caroline Hepker, Tiwa Adebayo and James Woolcock – Bloomberg
BRONZE – Edward Drummond – The Times
NomineesGeorge McDonagh – Freelance
Artemis Irvine – Freelance, Whistledown Productions
May Robson – Reduced Listening
Sports
GOLD – Andrew Wilkie, Faye Dunn, Phil Maguire and Paula Harriott – Prison Radio Association
SILVER – Chris Browning-Brant, Christian Hewgill, Katie Osborne and Jamie Smith – Formula 1
BRONZE – Sophie Penney and Adonis Pratsides – Global
Nominees
Rob Sillito , Ben Russell and Emma Brydges – Couch to Coached Running podcast
Damien St John and Ant McGinley – Podomedy
Ray Paul, Ishtia May, Jerelle Forbes and Heartless Crew (MC Bushkin & DJ Fonti) – The Playmaker Group

True Crime
GOLD – RAW/Audible
SILVER – Rima Ahmed, Luke de Costa and Luke Eldridge – BBC Sounds
BRONZE – Carl Miller, Caroline Thornham and Tom Wright – Novel
Nominees
Phoebe McIndoe and Redzi Bernard – Falling Tree Productions
Andrew Wilkie – Prison Radio Association
Production Team – StoryHunter
 
Ensemble Cast/Presenting Team
GOLD – Becky and Ben Saer
SILVER – Zak and Jules – Prison Radio Association
BRONZE – Beth Rigby, Ruth Davidson, Harriet Harman and Jess Phillips – Sky News
Nominees
Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins – Audible/Hat Trick
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders – Audible/Listen
Rachel, Elaine and Caroline – Whistledown
 
New Producer sponsored by Amazon Music
GOLD – Mia Thornton – BBC Sounds Audio Lab / Reform Radio
SILVER – Marnie Duke – Transmission Roundhouse
BRONZE – Katie Fox – We Are Grape
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Riham Moussa – Freelance
Nominees
Lorna Reader – BBC Studios
Joseph Russell – Fire Mountain Productions
 
Producer of the Year sponsored by Audible
GOLD – Bella Soames – DMG Media
SILVER – Andrew Wilkie – Prison Radio Association
BRONZE – Jack Edwards- Fix Radio
Nominees
Phoebe McIndoe – Falling Tree Productions
Georgia Arundell – Platform Media
Georgina Savage – RAW
Jon Holmes – unusual

AudioUK Award
Crossed Wires Festival

Production Company of the Year sponsored by Aiir
GOLD – Prison Radio Association
SILVER – Bespoken Media
BRONZE – Falling Tree Productions
Nominees
Fresh Air
Novel
Reduced Listening
Samizdat Audio

Publisher or Network of the Year sponsored by BetterHelp
GOLD – Fix Radio
SILVER – Resonance
BRONZE – Goalhanger
Nominees
Fun Kids
RQ Network
Sony Music Podcasts

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Sony Entertainment Television is collaborating with Sunrise Radio and Southall Travel for a festive promotion.

This will be a cross-platform promotion that follows Sunrise Radio’s presenter, Shabnam Sahi, on her festive journey to Mumbai, where she will go behind the scenes of India’s biggest shows, speaking to the stars exclusively.
Sony TV will create the magic of Christmas through music, entertainment, and storytelling with a one-week Sony Christmas Special – From the Airwaves to the Stars, which will follow Shabnam’s experience in Mumbai with Sony TV.
Sony’s Christmas Special, airing on Sunrise Radio between 22nd and 26th December, will include behind the scenes moments, star interviews and exclusive insight into Sony TV shows and stars.

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Aiir’s PlayoutONE Standard has been released as a completely free download for anyone interested in creating or running a station.

It’s the original version of the software, which most recently cost £99 as a one-off purchase.
The decision comes from one of PlayoutONE’s founders, who said the aim is to make it easier for people to start broadcasting without financial barriers.
Dave Brierley-Jones, co-founder of PlayoutONE and COO of Aiir, explained that the software has helped many stations over the years and remains fully functional, even though it will no longer receive updates or support from Aiir.
PlayoutONE Standard continues to provide core playout features such as allowing users to build and run playlists, manage audio and experiment with formats.
Dave said the software “opened the door for people who simply loved radio and wanted to experiment, create and broadcast.”
LiveStream has also been made free, giving users the ability to broadcast live at no cost. Companion tools Auto Importer and FileCopy can be used for free as well, each allowing one job per app, which is enough for simple automation tasks such as importing music or moving audio files.
The company says the change is designed to lower the barrier to broadcasting by giving more people the opportunity to experiment with radio at home or in small community environments.
Those who later need a supported system or additional features can upgrade to PlayoutONE Pro, which includes expanded automation and tools designed for stations with more complex requirements.
Aiir says this shift encourages new creators to explore radio and build projects without worrying about financial commitment.
Information and downloads are available at aiir.com/playoutonestandard.

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