Jo Whiley
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Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known professionally as Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running '' Jo Whiley Show'' on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
and has since been presenting her weekday evening show on Radio 2. She is also the main presenter for the BBC's
Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
coverage.


Early life and education

Whiley was born in
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 ...
to Martin, an electrician, and Christine, a postmistress. She attended Campion School''
Northampton Chronicle & Echo The ''Northampton Chronicle & Echo'' (known locally as ''"The Chron"'') is a local newspaper serving Northampton, England, and the surrounding towns and villages. It was published daily from Monday-Saturday until 26 May 2012 at a price. It the ...
4 November 2011, p. 13, "Sweet toothed Jo's Children in Need 'land of cake believe' stunt"
at Bugbrooke, near Northampton and then studied applied languages at Brighton Polytechnic. She swam competitively for
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
.


Career


Early career

In Whiley's final year of her degree, still unsure of what she wanted to do, a conversation with a lecturer led to a job with
BBC Radio Sussex BBC Radio Sussex is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of East and West Sussex. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Queens Road in Brighton. According to RAJAR, BBC Radio Surrey and BBC R ...
on a show called ''Turn It Up''. It allowed anyone to get on the radio and required Whiley to attend shows and interview the musicians. After a year, Whiley left for
City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...
for a one-year course on radio journalism. After writing many letters, she got a job as a researcher on WPFM, a
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
youth culture and music show. When the presenters
Terry Christian Terence Christian (born 8 May 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He has presented several national television series in the UK including Channel 4's late-night entertainment show '' The Word'' (1990–1995) and six series ...
and Gary Crowley left, she took over, gaining her first presenting role. She then moved into television, firstly at
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting plc (BSB) was a television company, based in London, that provided satellite television, direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. It started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company ...
where she produced and presented the indie show, and then at
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
where she worked as a researcher on '' The Word'', with her friend
Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after G ...
. Whiley moved on to
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
from September 1993 until March 2011, during the heyday of
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
with bands such as Blur and
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentSteve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...
, which was oriented towards less-mainstream, non-dance music. Whiley presented her own show on Saturday afternoon in late 1995. From 1995 to 1998, Whiley was a regular guest presenter on ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'', initially co-presenting with fellow DJ
Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...
before flying solo and alternating with
Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after G ...
and
Jayne Middlemiss Jayne Middlemiss is an English television and radio presenter. She began presenting music television shows including '' The O Zone'' and ''Top of the Pops'' in the mid-1990s, as well as other television and radio shows, including on BBC Radio 6 ...
. The three women are referred to by the ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' website as the '90s girls', as between them they presented nearly every show of 1997. However, the only occasion when all three presented together was on Christmas Day 1997. Whiley returned to the show twice between 2005 and 2006 to co-present with lead presenter
Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...
. On 24 November 2002, Whiley became the first female presenter of the Radio 1 Chart Show. In July 2009, Whiley published her autobiography, ''My World in Motion'', on CD through
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
Audiobooks.


''The Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1

From February 1997, Whiley had a weekday lunchtime show, called ''The Jo Whiley Show'' and later ''The Lunchtime Social''. This included elements of the evening show, such as tour dates and occasional live 'sessions' at
Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, ...
while working within the restrictions of Radio 1's daytime schedule. When
Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...
left
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
for
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 ...
and
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
in February 2001, Whiley's show was moved to a mid-morning slot. In July 2008, ''The Jo Whiley Show'' was fined £75,000 for misleading listeners for an incident involving a member of BBC staff posing as a member of the public taking part in a competition. The BBC claim Whiley herself was unaware of the deception at the time of its broadcast. Jo Whiley's weekday show ended broadcasting in September 2009 as part of a major shake-up of Radio 1's weekday schedule. The shake-up saw
Greg James Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985) is an English broadcaster and author. He has been a presenter on BBC Radio 1 since 2007, hosting shows including his old drive-time show and the station's flagship breakfast show. Since 201 ...
move to the afternoon slot (was occupied by Edith Bowman) and
Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...
move to Whiley's slot. Her final weekday programme took place on 18 September 2009. Following weekdays, the Jo Whiley Show was moved to weekends between 1pm to 4pm. As with her former weekday show, it still featured Live Lounge performances from visiting artists, as well as three new features: Jo's Road Trip, Top of the Shops, and SpellStar. Her last show on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
was on 27 March 2011.


BBC Radio 2

Since August 2009, Whiley has been an occasional stand in presenter for
Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English broadcaster and writer. She has been nominated three times for the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance for co-presenting the BBC One dancing compet ...
on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
. She was first heard on the network on Friday 21 August and made subsequent appearances on 2 October, 6 November, 27 November and 18 December 2009. In March 2010, it was announced that Whiley and former
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
presenter
Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...
would present a one-off Evening Session (the first in 13 years) on Good Friday (2 April) for
BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
. Presented another Evening Session on 28 January 2011. After being an occasional stand-in presenter on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
, Whiley began presenting ''In Concert'' on Thursday evenings in April 2010. On 1 February 2011, it was announced that Whiley would be leaving
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
after 17 years of broadcasting to join
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
, where she would present an evening show from Mondays to Thursdays starting on 4 April 2011, replacing '' The Radcliffe and Maconie Show''. Radcliffe and Maconie would, in turn, move to
BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
while Whiley's Radio 1 show would be taken over by
Huw Stephens Huw Meredydd Stephens (born 25 May 1981) is a Welsh radio and television presenter, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 6 Music. Stephens founded the Sŵn music festival with John Rostron and the yearly s ...
. Since 2011, she has co-hosted Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park. In March 2012, the BBC announced that as part of the broadcaster's celebration of the 20th anniversary of
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
, Whiley and Lamacq would present a week of ''Evening Sessions'' on Radio 2 from 7 April. In January 2018, it was announced that Whiley would join daytime on a drivetime show with
Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...
. This is the first time a woman had co-presented a Radio 2 daytime show in 20 years. On 22 October that year, the station announced that Mayo would be leaving Radio 2 after a backlash against the change, with Whiley moving back to an evening slot.


Television career

Whiley presents televised coverage of major music festivals, such as the
Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
. She also narrated the
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
series ''Little Angels''. In October 2007, she became a judge on the
T4 (Channel 4) ''T4'' was a scheduling slot on Channel 4 (''T4 Saturday'' usually 9 am until 2 pm) and E4 (''T4 Sunday'' usually 9 am until 5 pm). It also aired on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot had a separate station identifica ...
show ''
Orange unsignedAct ''Orange UnsignedAct'' (known as ''mobileAct Unsigned'' during its first series) was a Channel 4 talent competition, with bands and artists competing for a recording contract with Universal Music, a £60,000 advance, a single released after the ...
'' which searches for a band trying to get a record deal. Whiley also hosted a music TV show on music channel TMF. From late 1998, Whiley hosted her own music discussion show on Channel 4, called ''The Jo Whiley Show'', which ran for four series until late 2001. On 15 March 2010, Whiley presented an edition of the ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
'' documentary strand titled ''Are the Net Police Coming for You?'' in which she looked at the Digital Economy Bill, a proposed new law targeting people who download music illegally from the Internet. In 2014, Whiley was a contestant on the Children in Need special of Swashbuckle with her daughter Coco. In July 2021, Whiley was a co-presenter for the BBC's coverage of the
Hampton Court Garden Festival The Hampton Court Garden Festival (formerly The Hampton Court Flower Show) is an annual British flower show, held in early July of each year. The show is run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) at Hampton Court Palace in the London Borough ...
. In 2022,
The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...
' singer,
Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician. He serves as the co-founder, lead vocalist, primary songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers, which he formed with Dave Ke ...
, dedicated a performance of their song Pressure Machine to her saying "She's always sorta championed us ... she's said some wonderful things about this song and she's requested it tonight"


Personal life

Whiley married music executive Steve Morton in July 1991 in Northampton. The couple live in
Towcester Towcester ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative centre of the South Northamptonshire district. Towcester is on ...
, Northamptonshire and have four children. In October 2014, she was presented with a BASCA Gold Badge award. Whiley is a pescetarian. In February 2021, Whiley's sister Frances, who has learning difficulties and
diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
, was admitted to hospital after testing positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
following an outbreak in her care home. Frances, who is two years younger than Whiley, has Cri du chat genetic syndrome. Whiley publicly campaigned for those in her sister's category to receive priority in the COVID-19 vaccination programme roll-out. She repeated the plea during an interview on BBC's ''
The Andrew Marr Show ''The Andrew Marr Show'' is a Sunday morning talk show presented by Andrew Marr. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2005 to 2021. The programme replaced the long-running ''Breakfast with Frost'' as the network's flagship Sunday talk show when Dav ...
,'' on 21 February 2021. On 24 February the government announced that everyone with a registered learning disability would be prioritised for a COVID-19 vaccine.


Charity work

Whiley has been a patron of the charity Sibs, since 2021, a charity that supports the brothers and sisters of disabled children and adults. She is also a celebrity ambassador for Mencap, a UK charity that works to support people with learning disabilities. She hosts the Little Noise Sessions concert in aid of Mencap. She is also a supporter of Tommy's – The Baby Charity. Whiley is the patron of the cri du chat syndrome support group. On 19 March 2014, Whiley undertook a challenge for ''
Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Dire ...
'', in which she walked, jogged and ran on a treadmill for 26 hours, with a five-minute rest break each hour. She did this to raise money for the
Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Dire ...
appeal that same week. While completing the challenge she hosted two radio shows. The achievement impressed members of the band
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
, who donated £260,000 to Sport Relief.


References


External links

*
''Jo Whiley's Shiny Happy Playlist''
(BBC Radio 2)
''Jo Whiley''
(BBC Radio 2)
Whiley's autobiography ''My World in Motion'', released June 2009
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiley, Jo 1965 births Living people Alumni of the University of Brighton Alumni of City, University of London BBC Radio 1 presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters English journalists English radio DJs English television presenters People from Northampton English women radio presenters