The BBC at it's finest (Jo Whiley (Radio 1))

Member Name: faithlessone

Product:	Jo Whiley (Radio 1)
Date:	09/09/08 (281 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hot topics, live music, celebrity interviews,

Disadvantages: None

I regularly listen to radio 1 in the mornings and at different times throughout the day, but some of the DJ's and their particular styles of show on Radio 1 are more memorable than others. In particular the Jo Whiley show. She has been a DJ on Radio 1 now since 1993. By 1997 she was a permanent fixture on the daytime shows but she has been in the mid morning slot since 2001 bringing us her unique variety and wealth of musical incite daily from 10 am to 12.45 pm monday to friday.

I particularly like that her show is not just music played for the entirity of her show and is appealing to people on a broad scale with the variety of regular features it offers. It offers expert consumer help over a broad spectrum, live music, celebrity interviews, phone in's and on tuesdays Jo has one of six different experts appear on the show to offer assistance to the listenener in a variety of ways.

Martin Lewis is the shows money expert and has his own website; moneysavingexpert.com for listeners to go to for help, whether it be a loan you require and where to go to get the best rate, or help on student loans he offers impartial advice and very practical help.

Johnny Minkley is the resident games expert, offering his opinion on all the latest offerings from xbox 360, through to playstation 3.

Mark Chapman is the sport expert and talks about cricket, football to name but two and discusses with Jo all the behind the scenes action and gossip surrounding the vast array of sports and it's players.

Next you have Tracey Cox, she deals with all the relationship issues and tries to resolve some very bizarre situations.

The last two are; Angela Dunmore fashion expert and Tom Dunmore gadget man, dealing with all the latest gadgets and gizmos discussing the best and the not so great.

For the listener this can be both very informative and often gripping depending on the topic of course.

On thursdays Jo has an ask me anything day, where listeners can ring in and talk live on the show, or text in with a question (something that 's very popular at the moment) or refer to the Radio 1 website and click on Jo Whiley, where you will see down the right hand side of the page the sub headings for some of the main features on the show. Next, you can click on the particular one of interest and it will bring up a small form for you to submit and then your concern or question will be aired live on show, brilliant.

On fridays Jo does a very informative weekly round up of what's hot and what's not in her opinion and then listeners are given the oppertunity to text or ring in with particular things that they want mentioned as hot, or often not. You will hear what people think is the best movie to see, or play, or what band in particular gave an exceptional live performance.

My favourite aspect of the show is the live lounge. Appearing weekdays after 12 noon, a band will come in and will be interviewed by Jo (sometimes the interviews are like pulling teeth!) and then play live music. Often the performances appear on the website so if you should miss any of the performances or indeed the interviews, you can replay them to your hearts content. Because the show is live, there is no editing and so sometimes the interviews make for real entertainment. This year alone has seen some incredible interviews, not all interviews are with bands some are actors and Jo makes no bones about who she likes and, what she watches on tv when she is at home. Again as before, you can see photos of Jo and her guests on the website. Guests so far have included; John Barrowman, Naveen Andrews (Sayeed from lost), Katie Price and Peter Andre, Derren Brown, Victoria Beckham and one of my favourite bands ever, Coldplay, to name but a few.

Another popular feature on the show is changing tracks, a listener will submit one of the forms from the website with a particular music track that has in some way changed their life. I have heard many of these before but I have never been so moved as last week when a man wrote in with his particular harrowing story. I can't remember his name but I will call him John, John was a heavy drinker and married. Following the loss of their daughter he became an alcoholic and his marriage broke down. He tried to get help and get back on an even keel and this worked, for a while. He eventually met someone else and they got engaged, then his father died from cancer and he went over the edge and his drinking went out of control. Now, he is unable to be helped medically. He is in constant pain and will not live to see his next birthday in January. His changing track was; Behind these blue eyes by Limp Biskit.

I must admit, I had a lump in my throat after listening to such a desperately sad story. I thought it was the sadest thing I had heard in a while and wanted to share it with you Dooyooers. If you have never listened to Jo Whiley's show, then I can't reccommend it highly enough for the vast variety and entertainment that her show offers.

Summary: The best in Radio entertainment