The 50 best BBC radio broadcasters of all time
From Sandi Toksvig and Graham Norton to Kirsty Young and Terry Wogan, industry figures helped us compile a list of masters of the medium to celebrate the 50th anniversary of BBC radio
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5 Alistair Cooke
Transatlantic titan
Letter from America was a weekly series that ran from 1946 to 2004, and every one was written and presented by Alistair Cooke. He saw no fewer than 11 US presidents come and go, and offered his eloquent thoughts on everything from the rise of Elvis Presley to the assassination of John F Kennedy to the impeachment of Bill Clinton, via any number of small-town stories through which we in Britain got to know and feel what US life was really like.
No one delivered words more slowly, precisely, aptly or agreeably.
4 Annie Nightingale
Kicking down the door
Annie Nightingale’s prominence on the list is a reflection not just of her enduring popularity but of how she broke new ground in the late 1960s when she became Radio 1’s first female DJ. Husky of voice, steeped in the racy glamour of pop ’n’ rock, she was everyone’s favourite big sister, and played great music. And at 77 she still has a show on Radios 1 and 1Xtra.
3 Sue MacGregor
First Lady of radio
MacGregor’s combination of naturalness, authority and vocal aesthetic adds up to something flawless. On Woman’s Hour, the Today progamme and now The Reunion, she’s raised the art of radio broadcasting to the highest plane.
2 John Peel
The music man
Peel’s influence on music and on musical tastes is incalculable. His presenting style broke rank. He stood out just for talking normally. Now you can hear Peel’s inflections — the wit, the understatement — all over the airwaves. Peel (who died in 2004) brought us the music we had no idea we’d love — the essence of great broadcasting.
His feel for the domestic made him a natural to front Radio 4’s Home Truths. When most of us look back on him, we think of that amazing band he helped us discover — and the way he did it.