Chiltern Radio may also refer to

Chiltern Voice FM Chiltern can refer to the following places: In England: * Chiltern Hills, an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, known locally as "the Chilterns" ** Chiltern District, a local government district in Buckinghamshire named after the hills ** Chiltern ...

: Chiltern Radio Network was the parent group of several

Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2 ...

stations in the 1980s and 1990s. These were divided across two networks: ''The Hot FM'' and ''SuperGold''.

History

Chiltern Radio launched on 15 October 1981 from studios located on Chiltern Road in

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fou ...

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 ...

. On 1 June 1982, Chiltern expanded into

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 ...

with studios on Goldington Road. This was joined 30 November 1986 with Northants Radio from

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, and 15 October 1989 with Horizon Radio from

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 ...

. ''The Hot FM'' network transmitted on the FM services of

97.6 Chiltern FM Heart Dunstable (formerly 97.6 Chiltern FM) was an Independent Local Radio station based in Chiltern Road in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. History Together with sister stations Heart Bedford, 96.9 Chiltern FM, Northants 96 and Horizon Radio (UK), Hor ...

, 96.9 Chiltern FM,

Northants 96 Heart Northants (formerly Northants 96) was an Independent Local Radio station serving Northamptonshire. The station broadcast on 96.6 FM from studios in Northampton town centre, via the transmitter located in the Kingsthorpe area. As of Augus ...

, Horizon Radio, followed later by

Oasis Radio Heart Hertfordshire (previously known as ''Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6'') is an Independent Local Radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global Group, Global as part of the Heart (radio network), Heart network. It broadcasts a ...

, Severn Sound, and

Galaxy Radio Galaxy was a radio network owned by Global Radio and broadcast across the British Isles on FM in regional areas of England and Scotland, through the digital platform with Sky and DAB and online respectively. Local relays included: Galaxy Birmin ...

. For a while

and Horizon Radio operated a slightly more edgy "Hotter Mix" format, although they switched back again to the "Hot FM" for networked programming. ''

Supergold Supergold (Europe) was an oldies radio sustaining service originally operated by the Telstar Satellite Music Network (TSMN) and later by Chiltern Radio Network in the United Kingdom. Originally devised by entrepreneur and DJ Graham Kentsley, it ...

'' transmitted on the AM services of Chiltern Radio,

Northants Radio Heart Northants (formerly Northants 96) was an Independent Local Radio station serving Northamptonshire. The station broadcast on 96.6 FM from studios in Northampton town centre, via the transmitter located in the Kingsthorpe area. As of Augus ...

, followed later by Severn Sound and

Invicta Radio Heart Kent (previously Invicta FM) was an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Kent from studios at John Wilson Business Park in Whitstable. History Invicta in the 80 ...

. Stations would broadcast from their studios until 7pm, then share programmes from

overnight. In May 1995, the

GWR Group GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed on 9 May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Inde ...

launched a hostile takeover bid for Chiltern. This completed in July, and GWR began re-branding the stations in September - the FM stations as part of their ''Mix Network'' and gold stations as

Classic Gold Digital Network Classic Gold Digital Network was one of the biggest 'gold' (oldies) formatted radio networks in the United Kingdom, with a potential audience of 47 million. Classic Gold was broadcast on analogue and DAB digital platforms, as well as Sky channel ...

. Shared programming on FM moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

whilst shared AM programming remained in

. In May 2005, the GWR Group merged with

Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...

to form

GCap Media GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed on 9 May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index ...

, which

Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysal ...

bought out in 2008 and eventually became the Heart Radio network.

Presenters

Original DJs and presenters included

Paul McKenna Paul McKenna (born 8 November 1963) is a British hypnotist, behavioural scientist, television and radio broadcaster and author of self-help books. McKenna has hosted self-improvement television shows and presents seminars in hypnosis, ne ...

, Paul 'Mad Dog' O'Reilly,

Martin Collins Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart� ...

, Tony West,

NJ Williams Nigel Williams, sometimes known as NJ Williams, is a British broadcaster and voice-over artist. Biography Williams studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Surrey where he became involved in the campus radio station ...

, Tony Lloyd, and Louie Martin. Networked presenters included

Graham Torrington Graham Torrington (born 1960) is a British radio presenter and broadcaster. Radio work Romantica After starting out as a hospital radio presenter, Torrington joined Birmingham's BRMB in the 1980s to cover an overnight programme for Steve Denn ...

Chris Moyles Christopher David Moyles (born 22 February 1974) is an English radio and television presenter, author and presenter of '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on Radio X. Previously he presented '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2012 ...

, Emma Scott, Steve Power, Chris Brooks, Tim Allen, Mark Sadler, Tom Stewart, Simon Clarke, Neale James, Treva Ellis, and Laura Penn. Other presenters included Paul Garner who did a comedy and unsigned music show, David Francis on the late show and Dave Sanders who hosted a Sunday show consisting of mostly album tracks.

Network news

Chiltern Radio Network ran the satellite news service Network News between 5 July 1991 and 1 April 1996 as a competitor to

Independent Radio News Independent Radio News provides a service of news bulletins, audio and copy to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom and beyond. The managing director, Tim Molloy, succeeded long-term MD John Perkins in November 2009. Perkins had been ...

. The service provided hourly national news bulletins to not only Chiltern stations, but other broadcasters including

Virgin Radio Virgin Radio is a branding of radio stations broadcast in Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. As of April 2024, there were over 40 stations globally. The stations ...

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

Choice FM Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Global. It broadcasts on 96.9 and 107.1 FM in Greater London, and nationally on DAB, Global Player and television platforms. It specialises in hip ho ...

, and

Radio Maldwyn Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connecte ...

. Network News was joint led by

Paul Chantler Paul Chantler (12 October 1959 – 31 March 2024) was a British radio broadcaster, author, and broadcasting executive who held senior programming roles at Chiltern Radio, Essex Radio, and Wireless Group and worked for the BBC. Career In 1971 ...

(then Group Programme Director of the Chiltern Radio Network) and Jon Davies, journalist who had been a key part of ITN Radio News. The service closed with the acquisition of Chiltern Radio by the GWR Group, which was a shareholder in IRN.

References

External links

Chiltern Radio - The Legacy Site
- historical information, photos & audio {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiltern Radio Network Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom Former British radio networks Radio broadcasting companies of the United Kingdom News agencies based in the United Kingdom 1981 establishments in the United Kingdom 1995 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Companies established in 1981 Companies disestablished in 1995 1994 mergers and acquisitions