''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. 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 ...

'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 broadcaster and former economist. Working for the BBC, he has presented ''Dragons' Den'' on BBC Television since 2005, and '' PM'' on BBC Radio 4 since 2018. He also presents ''The Bottom Line ...

and produced by

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

. Launched in 1970, ''PM'' became the first radio news programme to feature its theme tune. It is known for its serious news content and occasional satirical commentary. Evan Davis has served as the lead presenter since 2018. The show also spun off a programme called ''iPM'', which allowed listeners to engage in discussions and influence content through a blog. PM has won awards at the Sony Radio Academy Awards, and its production team also work on other Radio 4 programmes.

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'', which is followed by a comedy show on Radio 4. Until 2024, the final five minutes of the weekday edition was only broadcast on the FM version of Radio 4, as the LW version broke 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 British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The for ...

History

''PM'' launched on 6 April 1970, with its first presenters, William Hardcastle and

Derek Cooper Major George Derek Cooper OBE MC (28 May 1912 – 19 May 2007) was a British Army officer, campaigner for refugees, and supporter of the Palestinian people. Early life and career Cooper was born in Bromley in Kent. He was the third of four ch ...

, 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 dome ...

'' 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 which 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 ...

. 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 Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

. 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 (general) (1936–2007), Australian Chief of the ...

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 music, incidental sounds and new music for radio and, later, television. The unit is known for its experimental and pioneering ...

. The second theme was written by Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and was used from 1978, with the final one, used between 1988 and 1997, by

George Fenton George Richard Ian Howe Fenton (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 ...

. Notable presenters after William Hardcastle included

Steve Race Stephen Russell Race OBE (1 April 192122 June 2009) was an English composer, pianist and radio and television presenter. Early life He was born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, the son of a lawyer, Race learned the piano from the age of five.Spenc ...

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 Christopher Sean Lowe was born and raised in Bla ...

, Roger Cook,

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 and ...

, 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 ...

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 te ...

(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 ...

'' presenter – in pre-interview chats,

junior minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry (government department), 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 desi ...

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 5 to 15, or to adults who have ...

). 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 Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specificat ...

'', ''

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, Unit ...

'' 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 former broadcaster who was a presenter on BBC radio and television. He also presented a programme on LBC between 4pm and 6pm every weekday until his last show, on 18 August 2022, after which he ...

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

Presenters

Other past regular presenters of the programme include:

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 ...

Clare English Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

Nigel Wrench Stephen Wrench, known professionally as Nigel Wrench, is a British radio presenter and reporter. In the 1980s, he reported extensively from South Africa, and later in London enjoyed a successful 20-year career with the BBC. Wrench is the only jo ...

and Dan Damon.

''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 Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

.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.

Humour

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 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 ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

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'', pronounced "what-oh") is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs radio programme, broadcast weekdays from 13:00 to 13:45 and produced by BBC News. The programme describes itself as "Bri ...

'', ''

The World This Weekend ''The World at One'' (or ''WATO'', pronounced "what-oh") is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs radio programme, broadcast weekdays from 13:00 to 13:45 and produced by BBC News. The programme describes itself as "Bri ...

'' and ''

Broadcasting House London 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. T ...

''. A ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' 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 September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' 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
{{BBC News BBC Radio 4 programmes 1970 radio programme debuts BBC news radio programmes