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Janice Long (born 5 April 1955)^[1] is an English radio broadcaster currently working on BBC Radio 2. Her show is on Sunday to Thursday nights from midnight to 02:00. She is the sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin.

Early career

BBC Radio 1

After interviewing Paul Gambaccini, Long joined BBC Radio 1 in 1982, presenting a Saturday evening show between 7:30 - 10pm. For several years (1982-84) she presented the Monday - Thursday evening show from 7.30-10pm & Singled Out on Friday evenings from 5.45-7pm

At the end of 1987, Long was fired from Radio One for being pregnant and unwed, and having been told she would no longer appeal to her young audience and would be "Too mumsy".

The Superstation, GLR and Radio 5

]]. In 1989, she joined London station BBC GLR, taking over from Nick Abbot on the breakfast show. At the time, GLR was being run by future Radio 1 controller Matthew Bannister and future Radio 1 executive Trevor Dann. In 1991, Long left the breakfast show of her own volition but continued to work for the station, where she took over a weekend show. In addition to this, she was heard presenting and producing occasional shows on the old BBC Radio 5. Long became involved with XFM in London, when it had a restricted service licence and played a crucial part in its bid for a permanent licence.

Crash FM

In 1995, Long moved back up to Liverpool, where she set up her own Radio station, Crash FM. With support from Bob Geldof, Boy George, and Primal Scream amongst others, she put together an RSL and a successful bid for a permanent licence.

BBC Radio 2

In 1999, Long started appearing on the rejuvenated BBC Radio 2, presenting a Saturday afternoon show from 3pm to 6pm.

Since 2000, she has been a weekday presenter and hosts a show between midnight and 3am Monday to Friday originally from Birmingham but since April 2008 has been presenting the show from BBC Radio 2 studios in London. Live music has included sessions from The Wombats, White Lies, The Comics, The Enemy, The Twang, The New Scientists, Mystery Jets, Adele, The Hollidays, The Zutons, Primal Scream, Kasabian, Amy McDonald, Hard Fi, Faithless, The Manic Street Preachers, Josh Ritter, The Stranglers, Paul Weller, Morrissey, Moby, Dandy Warhols, Stereophonics, Aslan , and a significant number of new and unsigned bands like Married to the Sea, Elle S'Apelle, Vijay Kishore, Damien Denmpsey, Amsterdam, Sam Isaac, Amy Winehouse did her first radio session after Janice gave her a go before anyone else. As of late 2007, Janice has begun to champion her listeners under the group name 'the two percenters'. This came about due to a word choice game that employed tricks to produce the same answer for all that played it. However, most of the listeners to Janice Long did not produce the intended answer and thus were said to fall into the two percent category of people for whom the game does not work.

As of January 2010, due to a reorganisation of the breakfast schedule on Radio 2, the show has been cut to two hours, and runs from midnight to 2am, Monday to Friday.

BBC 6 Music

From the station's founding and launch in 2002 to 2004 Janice presented The Dream Ticket ^[2] on BBC 6 Music, which aired from 10pm to midnight, five days a week with a Saturday and Sunday early morning follow-up from 6am-8am.^[3]

Other radio work

As well as a daily show on Radio 2, Long can also be heard on BBC WM on Saturday mornings from 9am-12pm.^[4]

Other work

Long has also appeared on the X Factor, Countdown, The Biography Channel, and provides the voiceover for the documentary Desperate Midwives on BBC Three TV.

She was also one of the personalities at the Live Aid concert in 1985, in which she mainly interviewed the performers back stage.^[5]

Long won the The Weakest Link DJ celebrity special, shown on BBC One on 5 September 2009.

References

1. ^ BFI biodata
2. ^ Dream Ticket web page from BBC 6 Music in 2003
3. ^ BBC 6 Music schedule from 2002
4. ^ "BBC Birmingham profile of Janice Long". http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2006/03/13/janice_long_feature.shtml.  
5. ^ "Radio Rewind profile of Janice Long". http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/janice_long_page.htm.  

External links

• Janice Long on BBC Radio 2
• Janice Long at the Internet Movie Database