BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

from studios at Grove Park in Dunstable. According to

RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR; ) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and Radiocentre. RAJAR's predecessor was c ...

, the station has a weekly audience of 125,000 listeners and a 5.8% share as of December 2023.

History

BBC Radio Bedfordshire (1985–1993)

The station launched as "Radio Bedfordshire" on 24 June 1985, serving the whole of

plus (despite the name) North

and the northern parts of

. Therefore

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

, Dunstable,

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

Knebworth Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Wald ...

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the River Bulbourne, Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which ...

, Tring,

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,674 in the 2021 census, while the population of the civil parish was 31,128. Harpe ...

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is nor ...

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, Hatfield,

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second Garden city movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...

Letchworth Garden City Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first Garden city movement, garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 United Kin ...

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

and

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

were served by the new station. In 1992, the station became known as "BBC Radio Bedfordshire with Herts and Bucks".

BBC Three Counties Radio (1993–present)

The station changed to its present name on 5 April 1993. The new name was intended to reflect the wider reach across the three counties and to give equal service to all. The editorial area was not, at that point, expanded but enhanced studio facilities and staff were devoted to Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. New transmitters at Epping Green and Bedmond extended the coverage area to Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and west Hertfordshire in late 2005. BBC Three Counties Radio became available on DAB radio on 14 February 2013. In June 2015, the station moved from its Luton base to new studios in Dunstable.

Technical

BBC Three Counties Radio broadcasts on FM on these frequencies (transmitter location in brackets): * 90.4 FM (Epping Green, near

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

) * 92.1 FM ( Bedmond, near

) * 94.7 FM ( Quainton Hill, near

) * 95.5 FM ( Sandy Heath) * 98.0 FM (

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

) * 103.8 FM ( Zouches Farm, near

) * 104.5 FM ( Bow Brickhill, near

) The station broadcasts on DAB digital radio on the Herts, Beds and Bucks digital radio multiplex, transmitted from Sandy Heath, Aylesbury, Epping Green, Hemel Hempstead, Chepping Wycombe,

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 census was 33,990. Letchworth ...

, Zouches Farm and Bow Brickhill. The station also broadcasts on Freeview TV channel 712 in the BBC East, BBC London and BBC South regions and streams online via

. Marlow is officially covered by BBC Radio Berkshire on 94.6 FM, Royston is covered by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on 96.0 FM and

Princes Risborough Princes Risborough () is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England; it is located about south of Aylesbury and northwest of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through ...

is served by BBC Radio Oxford on 95.2 FM. Those towns can still receive BBC Three Counties Radio through DAB and Freeview TV.

Programming

Local programming is produced and broadcast from the BBC's Dunstable studios from 6 am to 2 pm weekdays. Weekdays from 2pm to 10pm are now BBC East regional programming. Saturday 6 am to 10 pm BBC East shared programming. Sundays 6am to 6pm BBC East regional shared programming. Many of the regional shows are broadcast from the studios of Three Counties Radio. All other times such as late and overnight programming is England-wide shared programming. On football matchdays Three Counties allocates commentators to many of the football teams in the residual counties, including

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

, Wycombe Wanderers and MK Dons. The former Saturday regional late show, broadcast across the eastern counties from 9 pm to 1 am was from Cambridge for nearly 30 years hosted by Richard Spendlove MBE. Keith Skues was the Weekday Late Show host 1995–2005 10 pm to 1 am; he also presented PRS Pirate Radio Skues for 2 years Mondays 10 pm to 1 am and then carried on Sundays 9 pm to 1 am with PRS, The Skues Collection and Skues Me. During the station's overnight downtime, programming is simulcast from

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...

Presenters

Notable current presenters

* Andy Collins (weekday breakfast) *Jonathan Vernon-Smith (weekday consumer programme) * Babs Michel (weekend early morning) * Justin Dealey (weekend morning/early afternoon)

Notable past presenters

* Nana Akua *

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...

* Mo Dutta * Jon Gaunt * Simon Groom * Tony Hadley * Nick Lawrence (former Breakfast Show presenter, ex- Chiltern FM) * John Radford * Stephen Rhodes (former breakfast / consumer show presenter) * Dave Lee Travis (former Sunday morning presenter)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Three Counties Radio stations in Hertfordshire Radio stations in Bedfordshire Radio stations in Buckinghamshire Luton Hitchin Flitwick 1985 establishments in England Radio stations established in 1985