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The Simon Mayo Breakfast Show was the weekday breakfast show on BBC Radio 1 between 23 May 1988 and 3 September 1993. The programme was broadcast on weekdays, apart from on bank holidays, and had three broadcast slots. Originally on air between 7 am and 9.30 am, it gained an extra 30 minutes on 3 April 1989 to coincide with an earlier start to Radio 1’s day. Finally, when Radio 1 began 24-hour transmissions on 1 May 1991, the programme was broadcast between 6 am and 9 am. The programme ended as part of the major shake-up of BBC Radio 1 schedule by Matthew Bannister, which saw Mayo move to the station’s mid-morning slot.

Format

The programme, which was based on a "zoo" format, saw Mayo being joined by The Breakfast Crew consisting of news anchor Rod McKenzie and a weather/travel presenter, of which there were four regular presenters throughout the show's run - Carol Dooley (1988), Sybil Ruscoe (1988–89), Jackie Brambles (8 Jan - 14 Sep 1990) and the late Dianne Oxberry (October 1990 until the programme ended three years later). Weather and travel presenter stand-ins included Lynn Parsons, Caron Keating and Philippa Forrester.

News headlines were broadcast every 20 minutes. 30-second headline bulletins aired at 10 to and 10 past, alongside the full bulletin at half past the hour. The weather forecast was broadcast at 5 and 35 past, travel news at 25 and 55 past and a brief sports update, read by Mayo, was broadcast at around 20 past.

Features

The programme became known for various features, including On This Day In History, the cryptic game The Identik-Hit Quiz, where Mayo and his co hosts would 'act' a short scene which cryptically led listeners to the title of a hit song, and in August 1990 he launched his Confessions feature where members of the public sought absolution for their (often frivolous or humorous) "sins", and it moved to a television series in later years.

Monday's programme featured a rundown of the new UK Top 40 singles chart which was followed by a playing of that week's number one. This was broadcast at approximately 7.45am.

Break-out Hits

Due to frequent plays from Mayo, several unlikely hit singles reached the UK charts, including "Kinky Boots" by Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman "Donald Where's Yer Troosers?" by Andy Stewart; and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", sung and written by Eric Idle. For helping Monty Python have a hit with the latter 13 years after it first appeared on the soundtrack to The Life of Brian, Idle presented Mayo with a model bare foot, in the style of the animated version which used to end the opening titles to the TV show.

References

1. "Simon Mayo – BBC Radio 1 England – 23 May 1988 – BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
2. BBC Programme Index - Radio 1 3 April 1990
3. BBC Programme Index - Radio 1 2 May 1991
4. BBC Programme Index - Radio 1 23 October 1993
5. BBC Programme Index - Radio 1 8 January 1990
6. BBC Programme Index - Radio 1 1 October 1990
7. BBC Programme Index - BBC Radio 1 26 November 1990
8. Chapman, James (2002). Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s. I.B.Tauris. p. 253. ISBN 9781860647543. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
9. Idle, Eric (2018). Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – A Sortabiography. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 147.

• BBC Radio 1 programmes
• British radio breakfast shows
• 1988 radio programme debuts
• 1993 radio programme endings