BBC Hereford and Worcester

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BBC Hereford and Worcester is the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. It broadcasts from its studios in Worcester on 104 (Worcester), 104.6 (Kidderminster) and 94.7 (Hereford) FM; as well as 738 (Worcester) and 1584 (North Herefordshire) MW on AM. It began broadcasting on 14 February 1989.

It serves the rural communities across Herefordshire as well as the urban sprawls of Worcestershire with a range of programmes from Jazz, Classic Hits and Top Tens to local news, discussion and outside broadcasts everyday. When the station started, on February 14 1989, Jane Garvey (of Radio Five Live) was one of the team of journalists. A few months later, she took over the Breakfast Show and went on to win a Sony Award with it.

The original team of presenters included Graham Day (mid-morning), Gill Capewell (afternoons) and Allan Lee (drive). Other staff included Robert Piggott (Now BBC Religious Affairs correspondent), TV newsreader Liz McKean and former LBC presenter Jeremy Dry. Many of the current line-up of presenters - John Hellings, Mike George, Phil Simpson, Dave Bradley, Nonny James - have been with the station since its earliest days.

The first record played was Two Hearts by Phil Collins, to mark the unusual, two-centre set-up for the radio station.

Unusually for a BBC local station, BBC Hereford and Worcester still transmits on both AM and FM. The original, and two strongest FM transmitters are on 104 FM (Great Malvern, serving Worcestershire) and 94.7 FM (Ridge Hill, between Ross On Wye and Ledbury near Much Marcle, serving Herefordshire), These signals are not particularly powerful, and have limited coverage outside the two counties, unlike stations such as BBC WM. An additional FM transmitter on 104.6 has recently improved coverage in the Kidderminster area. The main AM transmitter on 738 kHz is on the western edge of Worcester and covers most of the counry. There is a small AM transmitter on 1584MW, which since March 2003 has originated from the array of masts at Woofferton, just south of Ludlow on the A49. Although they have weaker FM signals compared to other BBC local radio transmitters, the 94.7FM signal can be heard clearly in the north of Bristol and even Weston-super-Mare, as well as along the M4 from the Severn Bridge to Cardiff. The 738MW signal can also be heard in the north of Bristol. Wyvern FM is also broadcast by Ridge Hill on 97.6 FM; by Kidderminster on 96.7FM (weak signal); and by Great Malvern on 102.8FM.

From 10pm until 1am each weekday, it joins up with BBC local radio stations in the East Midlands, and with the stations in Shropshire and at Stoke on Trent with the late night show from Nottingham. Although BBC H & W is part of the West Midlands area, the Birmingham and Warwickshire stations have a separate programme at those times.

The local BBC news is Midlands Today from Birmingham. The area served by the station is part of a BBC trial of Local TV News. Video journalists produce short news reports, which will be sent to the BBC's new Birmingham HQ called The Mailbox for transmission on BBCi and bbc.co.uk. The videojournalists are Nathan Turvey, Cath Mackie, Michelle Lyons, Joanne Carter, Robert Thompson, Miles Pilling and Leonie Collier.

Contact Details: BBC Hereford and Worcester, Hylton Road, Worcester WR25WW : 43 Broad Street, Hereford, HR4 9WW Tel: 01905 748485 : 01432 355252 ;Textphone (for the hearing impaired) 01432 276946 01905 748608 E-mail: bbchw@bbc.co.uk or to contact BBC Hereford and Worcester TV email hwtv@bbc.co.uk

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