An NHS worker, a professional skateboarder and a former solicitor are among the new and emerging talent who will take over BBC Radio 1’s airwaves during the Christmas period.
From Boxing Day until New Year’s Day, the station will be showcasing 30 new DJs and presenters by giving them the opportunity to host a show to the nation.
Many of the presenters have taken an unconventional route to their first slot for the station, including 25-year-old Alexandra Woolhouse who trained as a solicitor before a career change into broadcasting and will this year become the first trans woman to host a show on Radio 1.
🎄Radio 1's Christmas Takeover 2021 is HERE!
We're welcoming 30 new presenters to the station over the festive period!
All the details here 👉https://t.co/3CMtXIlBhU pic.twitter.com/yT4Cdet1K7
— BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra & Asian Network Press Office (@BBCRadio1PR) December 7, 2021
She said: “I’m so excited to join the list of iconic BBC stars I’ve always looked up to, like Nigella Lawson, Bimini Bon Boulash and Fleabag, I’m honoured to be in the same sentence as them. Even if I wrote that sentence.
“I grew up listening to Radio 1 in the car going to and from school so I can’t wait for you to hear all I’ve learned and how I Hack Life on Boxing Day.”
Woolhouse will team up to co-host Radio 1’s Life Hacks with Carrie Morrison, a 24-year-old autistic podcast producer and editor from Worthing, who added that this opportunity was a “dream come true”.
Other new presenters include Sweetpea from Watford, who is an NHS worker by day and a radio presenter, DJ and producer by night, while James Threlfall is a professional skateboarder alongside being a presenter, podcaster and DJ.
Many of the presenters in the 2021 line-up started off in student, local, community or hospital radio stations – including Angelle Joseph from BBC Radio Suffolk, Ifan Davies from BBC Radio Cymru in Wales, and Phoebe I-H from BBC Radio Scotland.
Huge congrats to all our new presenters! You'll be able to hear them on Radio 1 from Boxing Day to New Years Day 🥳
Find out more about them all here 👉https://t.co/OeHu0IgxY4 pic.twitter.com/K66Bisw3e8
— BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra & Asian Network Press Office (@BBCRadio1PR) December 7, 2021
Radio 1’s Christmas Takeover began in 2019 and aims to provide a “valuable springboard for emerging presenters working to carve out careers in national radio”, the station has said.
A number of guest presenters from the initiative have gone on to secure permanent Radio 1 slots including Sian Eleri, who currently hosts the Chillest Show and the Powerdown Playlist, and Dean McCullough who hosts lunchtimes Friday to Sunday.
Aled Haydn Jones, head of BBC Radio 1, said: “Since its launch in 2019, Radio 1’s Christmas Takeover has grown into a powerful catalyst for boosting the careers of new and emerging presenters and DJs right across the industry.
“We’re incredibly proud of the achievements of those who have taken part in the takeover over the past couple of years, and we’re looking forward to showcasing the new crop of talent over the festive period this year.”