This is a list of events in British radio during 2003.

List of years in British radio (table)
In British television
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
In British music
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
+...

Events

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January

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February

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March

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  • 1 March – Dee 106.3 launches in the local Chester area – the first dedicated station for the city.
  • 17 March – Death in London of Alan Keith, aged 94. Earlier in the month he recorded an announcement that he intended to retire from the BBC programme Your Hundred Best Tunes, which he devised, after 44 years, but fell ill almost immediately afterwards; his final programme is broadcast 12 days after his death, making him the longest serving and oldest presenter on British radio.[5]

April

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  • 3 May – BBC Radio 1 cancels the first day of its One Big Weekend at Heaton Park, Manchester due to poor weather. However, the second day of the event goes ahead as scheduled.[7]
  • 29 May – Journalist Andrew Gilligan broadcasts a report on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme stating that the government claimed in its 2002 dossier that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within forty-five minutes knowing the claim to be dubious; a political storm ensues.[8]

June

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July

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  • 1 July – The rolling news service on Digital One, provided by ITN, stops broadcasting.

August

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  • No events.

September

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October

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  • 10 October – Lesley Douglas is appointed Controller of BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music.
  • 19 October – More than three decades after it first began broadcasting as a pirate station, and 18 years since its last broadcast, Radio Jackie goes on air as a legal station.[12] It broadcasts to south west London, replacing Thames Radio which haS fallen into financial difficulty.

November

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December

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Station debuts

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Programme debuts

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Continuing radio programmes

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1940s

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1950s

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1960s

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1970s

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1980s

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1990s

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2000s

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Ending this year

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Closing this year

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Deaths

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  • 17 March – Alan Keith, 94, actor and longtime classical music presenter
  • 20 April – Debbie Barham, 26, comedy scriptwriter
  • July – Kerry Juby, 55, disc jockey
  • 23 September – Sarah Parkinson, 41, producer and writer of radio and television programmes
  • 29 December – Bob Monkhouse, 75, comedy writer-performer and television game show host

References

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  1. ^ "Mark Goodier quits BBC for Classic FM". The Guardian. 12 November 2002. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Vine on critics' wavelength". BBC News. 7 January 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Biography of John Peters". Aircheck UK. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  4. ^ Day, Julia (17 February 2003). "Sacked DJ settles case". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Veteran DJ Alan Keith dies". BBC News. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  6. ^ "Radio stars launch Hall of Fame". BBC News. BBC. 8 April 2003. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Radio 1 – One Big Weekend". BBC. 3 May 2003. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  8. ^ Wells, Matt (2004). "The Story of the Story". In Rogers, Simon (ed.). The Hutton Inquiry and Its Impact. London: Politico's Guardian Books. pp. 28–41. ISBN 978-1-84275-106-0.
  9. ^ "DJ Johnnie Walker in cancer battle". BBC News. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  10. ^ "Kelly axed by Classic FM". The Guardian. 9 June 2003. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Press Office – One Big Weekend Cardiff". BBC. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Aircheck UK – Surrey". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Veteran DJs in radio hall of fame". BBC News. BBC. 4 December 2003. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  14. ^ "Saga 106.6 FM goes for February launch". RadioNow.co.uk. 7 January 2003. Retrieved 31 December 2009.