''PM'', sometimes referred to as the ''PM programme'' to avoid ambiguity, is

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

's long-running early evening news and current affairs programme. It is currently presented by

Evan Davis Evan Harold Davis (born 8 April 1962) is an English economist, journalist, and presenter for the BBC. He has presented ''Dragons' Den'' since 2005. In October 2001, Davis took over from Peter Jay as the BBC's economics editor. He left this p ...

and

Carolyn Quinn Carolyn Quinn (born 22 July 1961 in Camberwell, London) is a British journalist best known for her work on BBC Radio 4 as a political correspondent and for presenting the ''Today'' programme and '' PM''. Early life Quinn attended St Joseph's RC ...

and produced by BBC News.

Broadcast times

''PM'' is broadcast from 5pm to 6pm from Monday to Friday and from 5pm to 5:30pm on Saturdays. On weekdays it is followed by another news programme, the ''Six O'Clock News''. The final five minutes of the weekday edition are only broadcast on FM as long wave breaks away from the programme at 5.54pm to broadcast the teatime

shipping forecast The Shipping Forecast is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. ...

History

''PM'' launched on 6 April 1970, with its first presenters, William Hardcastle and Derek Cooper, promising a programme that "sums up the day, and your evening starts here".BBC Radio 4, 2007.
PM History
" Accessed 2007-09-10. Radio 4’s 10pm news programme ''

The World Tonight ''The World Tonight'' is a British current affairs radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4, every weekday evening, which started out as an extension of the 10 pm news. It is produced by BBC News and features news, analysis and comment on dom ...

'' was launched on the same day. ''PM'' made history for being the first radio news programme to feature its own

theme tune Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at som ...

.BBC Radio 4, 2007.
PM theme tune
" Accessed 2007-09-10.Audio Identities: Radio news themes
, ''imagedissectors.com''. Accessed 2010-09-03. Three have been used, with the last ending in 1997 in the aftermath of the death of

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, Prince of Wales, ...

. The first ''PM'' theme tune was by

John Baker John Baker or Jon Baker may refer to: Military figures * John Baker (American Revolutionary War) (1731–1787), American Revolutionary War hero, for whom Baker County, Georgia was named *John Baker (RAF officer) (1897–1978), British air marshal ...

and the

BBC Radiophonic Workshop The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was one of the sound effects units of the BBC, created in 1958 to produce incidental sounds and new music for radio and, later, television. The unit is known for its experimental and pioneering work in electron ...

. The second was produced by Dudley Simpson, with the final one, used between 1993 and 1997, by

George Fenton George Richard Ian Howe (born 19 October 1949), known professionally as George Fenton, is an English composer. Best known for his work writing film scores and music for television, he has received five Academy Award nominations, several Ivor No ...

. Notable presenters after William Hardcastle included

Steve Race Stephen Russell "Steve" Race OBE (1 April 192122 June 2009) was a British composer, pianist and radio and television presenter. Biography Born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, the son of a lawyer, Race learned the piano from the age of five.Spencer L ...

Brian Widlake Nigel Brian Windsor Widlake (13 April 1931 – 2 January 2017) was a British journalist, broadcaster and presenter. Early life Widlake was born in Fiji on 13 April 1931. Education Widlake was educated at two independent schools for boys, at the ...

, Robert Williams,

Chris Lowe Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. Biography Lowe attended Arnold School, an independent sc ...

Joan Bakewell Joan Dawson Bakewell, Baroness Bakewell, (''née'' Rowlands; born 16 April 1933), is an English journalist, television presenter and Labour Party peer. Baroness Bakewell is president of Birkbeck, University of London; she is also an author ...

, Susannah Simons,

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, ( Heyhoe; 11 June 1939 – 18 January 2017) was an English cricketer, businesswoman and philanthropist. She was best known for being captain of England from 1966 to 1978, and was unbeaten in six T ...

and

Valerie Singleton Valerie Singleton (born 9 April 1937) is an English television and radio presenter best known as a regular presenter of the popular children's series ''Blue Peter'' from 1962 to 1972. She also presented the BBC Radio 4 '' PM'' programme for t ...

(a former ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...

'' presenter — in pre-interview chats,

junior minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...

s "inevitably" claimed that they still had their

Blue Peter badge A ''Blue Peter'' badge is an award for ''Blue Peter'' viewers, given by the BBC children's television programme for those appearing on the show, or in recognition of achievement. They are awarded to children aged 6 to 15, or to adults who have b ...

). During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the programme's main presenter was Gordon Clough, who would typically prepare for the programme by completing the '' Times'', ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' and '' FT'' crosswords.

and Hugh Sykes co-presented the show during the 1980s but had a difficult relationship. Singleton made a one-off return to ''PM'' on 29 February 2016 to co-present a special 'Leap Day' programme, alongside

Eddie Mair Eddie Mair (born 12 November 1965) is a Scottish broadcaster who was a presenter on BBC radio and television. He presented his show on LBC between 4pm and 6pm every weekday until his last one, on 18 August 2022, after which he retired from bro ...

, and proposed marriage to him at the end of the programme. On 12 April 1998, a Saturday edition of the programme was launched.

Presenters

''iPM''

On 12 October 2007, the programme started an additional blog for a spin-off programme called ''iPM'', broadcast on Saturdays at 5:30pm (immediately after the Saturday edition of ''PM'') until 22 December and available as a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

.BBC Radio 4, 2007
iPM Show Notes, 22nd December 2007
" Accessed 2008-01-08. 'Through the blog, ''iPM'' listeners could discuss ideas with the production team and comment on the stories being lined up for the following show – so what ended up on air was shaped by the listeners.

Quirky features

Though predominantly consisting of serious news, the programme is known for occasional satirical commentary, both from the presenters and in letters from listeners. In 2008 the programme renamed its financial news slot "Upshares, Downshares" and used the title music of the television drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', composed by

Alexander Faris Samuel Alexander "Sandy" Faris (11 June 1921 – 28 September 2015) was a Northern Irish composer, conductor and writer, known for his television theme tunes, including the theme music for the 1970s TV series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. He compos ...

. In 2009, variations on the tune performed by ''PM'' listeners in a variety of styles from

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

to heavy metal became a regular feature. This ended when the UK statistically left recession early in 2010. In October 2010, a compilation was released in aid of the Children in Need charity appeal, for which it raised over £70,000.

Production

''PM'' is currently edited by Owenna Griffiths. The production team also works on Radio 4's ''

The World at One ''The World at One'', or ''WATO'' ("what-oh") for short, is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs programme, produced by BBC News, which is currently broadcast from 13:00 to 13:45 from Monday to Friday. The programme de ...

'', '' The World This Weekend'' and ''

Broadcasting House Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The main ...

''. A ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' poll in 2005 named Mair as the fifth most powerful person in radio.BBC News, 2005.
RT Poll
" Accessed 2007-09-10.

Awards

The programme won two accolades in the 2007 Sony Radio Academy Awards: Gold in the Interactive Programme Award, and Silver for Speech Programme.

References

External links

Video clips

''Upshares Downshares'' in the studio

''Upshares Downshares'' (electronic guitar arrangement)

TV advert

Audio clips

''Upshares Downshares'' (Dr Who Radiophonic Workshop arrangement)

PM theme tunes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pm (Radio 4) BBC Radio 4 programmes 1970 radio programme debuts BBC news radio programmes