Radio 1 announces huge schedule shakeup

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 19h

Greg James will go five days a week and three long-serving presenters are to exit as part of a new year shakeup of the BBC Radio 1 schedules.

Greg James will take his breakfast show to five days a week as part of a major shakeup of the BBC Radio 1 schedules in January, it has been announced.

Three long-serving presenters - Huw Stephens (21 years), Phil Taggart (nine years) and Dev (11 years) - will all be leaving the station as part of the changes, which are being overseen by Radio 1 head Aled Haydn Jones.

Adele Roberts is moving to take over the weekend breakfast show, with Arielle Free hosting early breakfast from Monday to Thursday and a rotating lineup of "emerging talent" taking turns at early breakfast on Fridays.

Newcomer Sian Eleri will host Radio 1's Chillest Show and Northern Irish presenter Gemma Bradley has been named as the new host of BBC Music Introducing on Radio 1.

"This is a really exciting time for Radio 1 as we prepare to welcome the next generation of talent: Sian and Gemma are going to bring some brilliant energy to our weekend line up, and with our new Friday morning rotation we're going to be hearing from some fantastic new presenters over the coming months," said Jones.

"The listener is at the heart of everything we do at Radio 1, and we look forward to introducing a fresh new schedule as we continue to deliver the entertainment, escapism and new music that our audiences know and love."

In a statement announcing his exit, Dev confirmed that his final R1 show will air on December 20.