This is a list of events in British radio during 2005.
Events
January 17 January – 268 radio stations, including national stations Classic FM and Virgin Radio, join together to broadcast UK Radio Aid, a twelve-hour event to raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
February to April No events
May 23 May – As BBC staff stage a one-day strike over announced job cuts, Terry Wogan crosses the picket line to present his show.
June 5–10 June – BBC Radio 3 clears its airwaves for almost an entire week to broadcast the music of a single composer – Ludwig van Beethoven.Radio 3 clears the air for Beethoven. This is followed up at the end of the year with ten days of non-stop Johann Sebastian Bach which is broadcast in the run-up to Christmas. 21 June – Emap buys Scottish Radio Holdings.
July 7 July – 7 July 2005 London bombings: Four terrorist suicide bombings strike London's public transport system during the morning rush hour (killing 56), receiving extensive media coverage. The BBC sticks with initial reports of a power surge on the London Underground until actual events can be corroborated. 25 July – London's 102.2 Smooth FM signs a three-year deal with Chelsea F.C. to provide exclusive match coverage of the club's games until the end of the 2007–08 season.
August No events
September 8–12 September – BBC Radio 5 Live devotes its daytime schedule to broadcast extensive live coverage of the deciding Ashes cricket match.
October c. 18 October – Pirate radio stations broadcasting to the Handsworth and Lozells districts of Birmingham, most notably Hot 92, discuss an alleged rape, a contributory factor in the 2005 Birmingham riots. 31 October – Actress Mary Wimbush dies, aged 81, at The Mailbox studios of BBC Birmingham shortly after completing work on a recording session for The Archers.
November 25 November – The UK's first Islamic radio station, Islam Radio, is established in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
December No events
Station debuts 21 February – Chill 7 June – 102.2 Smooth Radio 3 October – KMFM Ashford 1 November – Aston FM 25 November – Islam Radio 5 December – 102.6 & 106.8 Durham FM
Programme debuts 7 January – Ed Reardon's Week on BBC Radio 4 (2005–Present) 4 August – The Ape That Got Lucky on BBC Radio 4 (4–25 August 2005) 15 September – Another Case of Milton Jones on BBC Radio 4 (2005–2010) 3 October – The Dream Ticket with Nemone on BBC 6 Music (2005–2006)
Continuing radio programmes 1940s Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018) Desert Island Discs (1942–Present) Woman's Hour (1946–Present) A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)
1950s The Archers (1950–Present) The Today Programme (1957–Present) Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)
1960s Farming Today (1960–Present) In Touch (1961–Present) The World at One (1965–Present) The Official Chart (1967–Present) Just a Minute (1967–Present) The Living World (1968–Present) The Organist Entertains (1969–2018)
1970s PM (1970–Present) Start the Week (1970–Present) You and Yours (1970–Present) I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–Present) Good Morning Scotland (1973–Present) Newsbeat (1973–Present) File on 4 (1977–Present) Money Box (1977–Present) The News Quiz (1977–Present) Feedback (1979–Present) The Food Programme (1979–Present) Science in Action (1979–Present)
1980s Steve Wright in the Afternoon (1981–1993, 1999–2022) In Business (1983–Present) Sounds of the 60s (1983–Present) Loose Ends (1986–Present)
1990s The Moral Maze (1990–Present) Essential Selection (1991–Present) No Commitments (1992–2007) Wake Up to Wogan (1993–2009) Essential Mix (1993–Present) Up All Night (1994–Present) Wake Up to Money (1994–Present) Private Passions (1995–Present) Parkinson's Sunday Supplement (1996–2007) The David Jacobs Collection (1996–2013) Drivetime with Johnnie Walker (1998–2006) Sunday Night at 10 (1998–2013) In Our Time (1998–Present) Material World (1998–Present) Scott Mills (1998–2022) The Now Show (1998–Present) It's Been a Bad Week (1999–2006) Jonathan Ross (1999–2010)
2000s Dead Ringers (2000–2007, 2014–Present) BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (2000–Present) Sounds of the 70s (2000–2008, 2009–Present) Big John @ Breakfast (2000–Present) Parsons and Naylor's Pull-Out Sections (2001–2007) Jammin' (2001–2008) Go4It (2001–2009) The Jo Whiley Show (2001–2011) Kermode and Mayo's Film Review (2001–2022) The Big Toe Radio Show (2002–2011) A Kist o Wurds (2002–Present) The Day the Music Died (2003–2007) Fighting Talk (2003–Present) Jeremy Vine (2003–Present) Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music (2004–2006) Trevor's World of Sport (2004–2007) The Chris Moyles Show (2004–2012) Annie Mac (2004–2021) Elaine Paige on Sunday (2004–Present)
Ending this year 18 May – Puzzle Panel (1998–2005) 29 September – Jane Gazzo's Dream Ticket (2004–2005) October – Westway (1997–2005) 18 October – Think the Unthinkable (2001–2005) 9 November – Whispers (2003–2005)
Closing this year Date Station Debut27 May 102.2 Jazz FM1990
Deaths 2 January – Cyril Fletcher, 91, comic monologuist 6 March – Tommy Vance, 63, disc jockey 19 March – John Ebdon, 81, radio broadcaster, Graecophile, author and director of the London Planetarium 7 November – Harry Thompson, 45, comedy producer, lung cancer 19 November – John Timpson, 77, news presenter (Today (BBC Radio 4)) 20 November – Jonathan James-Moore, 59, former BBC Radio head of light entertainment, cancer 21 December – Hallam Tennyson, 85, radio producer (great-grandson of Alfred, Lord Tennyson), suspected murder
References