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Episode details

Radio 2,05 Oct 2025,28 mins

Series Pick of the Pops at 70!

Part 3 – The Radio 2 Years: 1997 onwards

Pick of the Pops

Available for 8 days

The 4th of October 2025 marks seventy years since the iconic radio show Pick Of The Pops began on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½. Mark Goodier presents the final part of the series, tracing the history of the programme and its hosts through the last 27 years since it finally came home to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2. Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman had fronted the show sporadically on a local station in London for several years, but by 1997, and after stints at Radio 1 and a 40th anniversary special in 1995, it was time to fully bring it back where it all started, live from Broadcasting House every weekend. We hear how Fluff and producer Phil Swern made it into an essential nostalgic look back at some of the great charts over the previous four decades, then handed the reins over to Dale Winton for ten years, before Tony Blackburn, Paul Gambaccini and Steve Wright took it to new heights, creating an ever-growing community of fans. The archive includes a surprise takeover by Fab FM’s Smashie and Nicey in the Noughties and Noel Gallagher stepping up as a special one-off guest-host in 2021, and there are new contributions from presenters including Greg James, Scott Mills, Fearne Cotton and Gary Davies explaining why the appeal of the show never seems to diminish, particularly on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds, where it’s consistently one of the most requested titles on demand.

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