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New BBC Radio 2 presenter Angela Scanlon: "I don’t think breakfast would suit me at all"
Angela Scanlon wants to bring a laid-back dynamism to her Radio 2 show.
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
- Matt Charlton
Published: Monday, 9 November 2026 at 5:00 pm
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This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
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At the start of our video interview, for a second, I think Angela Scanlon might be glitching. “James and I are out, so whenever works for you guys, Raquel is making salmon and rice,” she replies to a question I haven’t asked. “Sorry! [addressing me now] It’s half term, and I have one kid at a play date, and I’m just trying to navigate, but we’re all good.”
This chaos and allusion to some serious plate spinning make her a good fit for the much-coveted Radio 2 drivetime slot – an assured yet haphazard voice, guiding listeners through a busy time of day. There was a de-facto audition over the summer, with Scanlon, plus the likes of Gary Davies, Mark Goodier, Ellie Taylor and Jason Manford in charge of Sara Cox’s vacated faders.
“I don’t think breakfast would suit me at all,” she tells me in her appealing County Meath accent. “But this timeslot feels like the audio equivalent of the golden hour, where you’re at this magic time in people’s lives when they’re moving, downing tools, taking kids home, deciding on dinner. Just the idea of being alongside people at that time of day – which is usually the exhalation at the end – feels very exciting.”
Scanlon has been all over British screens since the turn of the decade, from Your Home Made Perfect to Strictly. But she’s also had one ear on the wireless. “I’ve always loved and respected radio so much. I do love the fanfare, big teams, madness and glamour of telly, but radio feels intimate. There’s an immediate dialogue.”
What’s her earliest radio memory? “The background noise of Terry Wogan. I don’t remember it being a specific moment, but I recall feeling the significance of Terry being on the BBC. There was a sense of national pride we were all aware of.”
Carlos Gu and Angela Scanlon on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023. BBC/Guy Levy
Like the late great Sir Terry, Scanlon was born and raised in Ireland, so she was brought up on the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ. Only when she moved to the UK did she learn of the trailblazing women – Jo Whiley, Zoe Ball, Annie Nightingale, Janice Long, and of course Sara Cox – that have gone before her. “Irish radio was a male-dominated landscape when I was growing up. So, it does feel big for me, in that respect ’cos, obviously, Radio 2 had amazing women historically.”
I also point out that she’s Radio 2’s first Irish presenter since Sir Terry, until she corrects me. “Graham Norton!” Of course. But she is Radio 2’s first female Irish DJ. “I’ll take it! It does feel kind of frightening, and also wildly irresponsible to utter ‘Terry Wogan’ in any way [related to me]!”
Scanlon clearly knows the task at hand, and yet is keeping herself in check. She mentioned in a recent TV interview that this feels like her first “real job” – five days a week, designated holidays, a commute. “I really need to stop saying that,” she says, rolling her eyes at herself.
“It looks like I’ve emerged having done nothing! But I’m leaning into the routine of it. “I think I had idealised not having a routine – ‘I’m free and exciting!’ – but I remember when I finished Strictly, I thought, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know what I’m doing!’ I realised I had ideas about routine that were maybe not serving me very well. So the continuity, every day, for five days a week, is insane.”
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What, then, can she say about the new show? “A driver for me is a defiance to do the opposite of what I believe is expected of me in any given situation.” Is she going against the innate chaos? “I can be quite high-energy so I’ve found myself thinking ‘recline more’.” And the music? “I’d love to play more female artists… make sure that’s part of the fabric of the show.” What’s her go-to album for the car? “Jagged Little Pill. On a weekend away with friends, we played it on a loop – the angst and the anger of Alanis Morissette are so guttural.”
Finally, the most important question – what would be her choice for the show’s All Request Friday? “Dreams by the Cranberries. My eldest sister was a big fan, so she introduced me to that. It was a real moment when they played it in Derry Girls.” With such a Radio 2-friendly choice, the show’s steering wheel is in safe, though defiant, hands.
The latest issue of Radio Times is out on Tuesday – subscribe here.
You can listen to Angela Scanlon Monday to Friday at 4pm on BBC Radio 2.
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Authors
Matt Charlton
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