Volunteer Presenters

Ghazal is an aspiring broadcast journalist who believes that the majority of the world’s problems could be solved through effective communication. She attempts to bring to light issues that are usually swept under the carpet by her fellow students, while…

Alvin is old enough to know better, with a massive music collection, involved with DAB as a trustee, occasionally works for CQC, and as a sound engineer at Bradford Cathedral. “According to my age demographic I shouldn’t like the music…

Shamim is a regular with BCB, presenting Thursday’s About Bradford, 11am to 12 noon, with Shazia Awan and also the monthly Here We Are show. Presenting radio shows is a new challenge for her and she’s enjoying every minute of…

Peg has been doing live talk shows on BCB for a couple of years. She lives and works in Bradford,  most recently as the founding Director of our City of Film Status. She likes the ridiculous and loves connecting up what’s…

Alan has been presenting Bring It On Home for at least 12 years now, and has made a rod for his own back – he plays new releases in blues, folk, country and roots, so there’s a lot to keep…

Simon Ashberry has been playing the best of local music on Bradford Beat for almost two decades. He was music columnist for the Telegraph & Argus for several years, covering local acts such as Embrace, Terrorvision, Tasmin Archer and New…

Shazia co-presents About Bradford with Shamim live every Thursday, 11am to 12 noon, and is part of the Here We Are programme team, broadcast monthly on Friday evenings. As a presenter she loves the challenge of interviewing and meeting with…

Martin is a retired police officer with a keen interest in Bradford, its history and its future. He is also chair of Under the Clock Bradford, otherwise known as the Bradford Police Museum, which he’s been developing in City Hall,…

The Blanks present BCB’s tech-comedy show, I.T. Stuff with Dave Spencer & Dick Thomas. Cheeky commentaries on monthly news and updates from the tech industry, their opinions are echoes from working within the depths of the sector, spanning decades. shi…

Born in Reading, went to Uni in Leeds, now lives in Shipley. Always wanted to be a local radio DJ but never got round to it. Until BCB came into his life. Then he took a career break, volunteered for…

Kath Canoville, also known as Kaf ‘Muscrat’ Canoville (that pesky little critter) presents About Bradford on Tuesdays 11am until 12pm. She also produces a Saturday night programme, Global Meltdown, a journey round the world through dance beats. Kath has been…

Dave first got involved in radio and BCB as a youth worker in Buttershaw, with a great little project called Ripple ED. BCB staff helped Dave train young people to broadcast their own radio shows and run their own station.…

Like the guardian of the airwaves he opens the Friday schedule with his Electric Breakfast in the morning, releasing the FUNK of a Thousand Thunders on the unsuspecting people of Bradford, and closes it with his Midnight Sessions in the…

A life long music and football fan, Pete has presented the BCB punk show since 2001, and been involved with the BCB sports team since 2008. He’s currently the Bradford City correspondent, as well as a Sports Centre presenter during…

David is a longterm music fan with a splendid record collection. He plays music from around the world, but mainly the US. So you’ll hear a lot of blues and some salsa, cajun, rock, folk, C&W, boogie woogie, americana, African…

Michael is an artist living in Bingley. Enjoys collecting objet d’art – yes he’s very pretentious! Also enjoys walking locally with friends. Likes to go out and socialise with friends who will buy him a drink!

Fran started her broadcasting career with ITV and went on to work with the BBC. She now volunteers for BCB, enjoys the outdoors and loves discovering the hidden gems throughout the Bradford District. She also  enjoys reviewing plays and exhibitions…

WBJSU (as no-one calls it) is an hour of new music on Friday nights. The only music criteria for the programme is that it’s new, interesting and probably won’t be heard elsewhere. The programme deliberately defies categorisation, which is why…

Val was born and bred in Bradford, and is married with one son. She sings with Great Horton Singers, and volunteers at the Wellbeing Café.

Jerry has been a presenter and a volunteer at BCB since 1994 and loves most genres of music. He is also a producer, a promoter and even finds the time to be involved in various community projects  

Malcolm is retired after 30 years at the chalk face in Buckinghamshire, Bradford and Leeds. His father arrived from Glasgow in 1956, to save Bradford City FC by way of 136 league appearances! Born in Micklethwaite in 1961, Malcolm is…

Zahir has worked in community and mental health work across different organisations. He has also dabbled in some radio and TV presenting and stage compering, done some theatre acting work and faced the camera for the occasional TV and film…

Michelle runs the on-line music resource Yorkshire Music Collective, which aims to connect people in music in Yorkshire. You can find out more details on the website yorkshiremusiccollective.co.uk Michelle spends most of her free time attending local live music events.

Mary is the Director and one of the founders of BCB – and just occasionally you get to hear her on the airwaves! She presents Radio Venus with Liz Firth, and pops up on the occasional Outside Broadcast and In…

Kathy is a jazz guitarist and teacher based in Bradford. She performs original compositions with John Dyson in the Inside Outside Jazz Duo and teaches improvisation workshops. She’s also actively involved in the Musicians’ Union and works with them to…

Mohamed and his wife Nozha started Arabic News in December 2001. Their aim is to integrate the Arabic community into the lives of the other Bradford communities and inform them of all the events in the district. Arabic News is…

Nozha has presented BCB’s Arabic News since December 2001, with research help from her husband, Mohamed Elsayed. Their aim is to integrate the Arabic community with all the other Bradford communities, and share news of events in and around Bradford.…

Joseph is currently involved in hosting Sports Scene on Saturday 1-2pm. When he’s not mining at the rock face that is BCB for radio gold he can be found studying for an MSc in Journalism, going to gigs, and generally…

Myra is a retired broadcaster who just loves spending time reminiscing and sharing the social history of our lives. She also loves the challenge of collaborating with fellow Bradfordians and giving them a chance to speak about Days Gone By!…

Liz lives and works in Bradford, and divides her time between roles as the Interfaith Worker at Bradford Cathedral and the development worker at Wellsprings Together Bradford, a project tackling poverty locally. In her spare time Liz gets involved in…

Ian has lived in Bradford since 1982, when he arrived to volunteer for a homeless project. He worked in further education for 22 years, until 2014. He presents In Your Backyard, with Malc Currie, in the About Bradford slot on…

Nic is a local lad who likes to bring a smile to your face. He presents the show that gives you the feelgood factor, and is a passionate lover of music and life. He’s an Italian man with a love…

Tareck has been involved in radio since university, and is a fan of funk from masters such as James Brown, Gil Scott Heron and Parliament, to the hip hop of Rakim and De La Soul. He’s lived and partied through…

Graham started out as an electrician in a former life, so he comes from a technical background. He’s now retired and, although he occasionally co-presents with the Afternoon Stretch team, he’s happier working behind the scenes driving the desk or…

Steve is a fanatic follower of Bradford City since the 1960/61 season and can be seen at all home and away games. He’s one of the founder members of the Shipley Bantams Supporters And Travel Club, formed in 2004. He…

I like to help people and local communities – that’s why I put together the show I present on BCB Radio, Carers Happy Hour. I write my own songs and play the keyboards as one of my many hobbies. I…

Carl Gresham started his career as a broadcaster, but soon ventured into employment as a columnist, disc jockey, actor, presenter and a musicologist. Having appeared in films such as Billy Liar and TV shows like Coronation Street, he now brings…

Griff’s Magic Theatre …..from the mind-expanding to the brain-frying, from the unheard through the well-loved and into the unknown…… this IS the 60s music party, this is THE disco…..this sound ain’t foolin’ around, clearer mono hifi sound, with the DYNAMICS…

Nigel became involved with BCB over 15 years ago when he was asked to share his top 10 tunes on One To One, and since then he’s grown into a vibrant presenter. Nigel’s favourite saying is ‘Better to give than to…

John has volunteered at BCB radio since the early 2000s, presenting live and specialist music programmes. He is married with two grown up boys, he is a member of Leeds Vineyard Church and also a Leicester City supporter. John works…

Chris is an award-winning business journalist with more than 40 years’ media experience. A former Business Editor of the Telegraph & Argus in Bradford (twice), he also held senior PR roles with national organisations, including the Confederation of British Industry…

Fran started working in radio in the old days of reel-to-reel tapes. To bring her skills up to date after a long break she did a training course and ended up doing more than she bargained for! She soon became…

Liaquat has been with BCB for 15 years, and has also worked on various Ramadhan radio broadcasts. He’s very passionate about radio broadcasting, and is on BCB’s Management Committee. He’s been working for various voluntary organisations for the last 10…

Banaris is one of BCB’s longest serving presenters. He has also co-presented shows on the BBC Asian Network and serves on BCB’s management committee. Banaris loves Bollywood remixes, films (and fast food, but don’t tell anyone).

Mycall Isrell presents Stepfaword every Sunday on BCB at 3pm, a show all about the spoken-word poetry genre. Mycall has long had a fascination and love for creative writing, and is very much interested in exploring the personal and social…

Di was born in Bradford and has a passion for all music, particularly classical music. She loves to share her passion with you.

Lizzie has been at BCB since 2007. Before that she studied Music Production at Leeds College of Music. As well as presenting Lizzie is also an actress and voice-over artist. She currently presents The Northern Side, a weekly showcase where…

Mercy is a single mother to three children and has been a radio presenter since 2013. She joined BCB in 2015, playing music such as EDM, country, Afro beats, soca, house – and much more. She says, “Music brings people…

Uzma is a youth & community development worker and freelance theatre designer, based in Bradford. She’s interested in community relations, using the arts as a tool to challenge and to create change in our lives locally and globally. Uzma has…

Claire studied BA Fine Art at Bradford School of Art, focusing her final year project on sound-based media, and started volunteering at BCB on an arts magazine programme. In 2009 she was given the post of community reporter and has…

Alan’s been with BCB since 1999, when he realised there was more to life than retirement. Starting with Shipley Corner he progressed to three regular slots on air. He’s a long-term member of Mancom, the committee helping to make decisions…

A typical day at BCB for Jo involves booking guests for interviews, researching current news stories, organising running orders, dealing with volunteers, and much more! She started doing her own radio shows at the age of 13, and went on…

Lubna has volunteered at BCB for a long time and is a cherished member of the BCB family. She presents Bradford Spice every Monday 7-8pm, bringing a unique and refreshing mix of music, local interviews and chat that’s sure to…

Ahmad is a vibrant individual with a degree in psychology, which helps him engage with his audiences. He is currently doing voluntary community development work in Bradford through a corporation called Catalyst. He is also part of a charity called…

Alex is a Yorkshire lad through and through. He’s always had a passion for radio, ever since the days he used to fall asleep listening to Classic FM. This ambition led him to do a three year degree course in radio…

Nigel was born in 1955 and since he was very young he has loved all popular music and listening to the radio. Back then he listened to the BBC Light Programme, Luxembourg 208 and offshore radio. As a teenager and…

Phil is 27 and has been on BCB for two years. He’s been doing radio for about eight years, and, with his co-presenter Ant, specialises in radio interviews, new music and breaking artists. You can find out more at bradfordbap.co.uk…

Ben presents Friday’s BCB Xtra 6:30-7pm slot, with Ben’s Big Tunes, the latest electronic dance music bangers from different genres – Trap, Drum & Bass, House, Hardcore, Dubstep and Jungle. He has a degree in Sound and Music Technology and…

Robbie has been involved with BCB since 1992, when it started up as Bradford Festival Radio. He helped set up BCB as a company in 1994, worked as joint director with Mary Dowson and served as a member of the…

Marie presents The Guide on Tuesdays, and Vintage Spotlight, about the vintage scene in West Yorkshire, playing vintage dance music – jive, lindyhop, shag and balboa – with info and interviews on events and dance classes. She also presents a…

Some things old, some things new, some things borrowed…and some things so downright odd it’s unlikely you’ll find them on Spotify. From Hear – a pick ‘n’ mix of this ‘n’ that. From original punk to new local music, via…

Gary is a local musician, teacher and promoter. He presents a monthly show, Around The World In 60 Minutes, a wide cross section of non-mainstream music from around the world. Gary will be keeping people up to date on the…

AKA Mistryllaneous – photographer, printmaker, educator, selector (not a dj). One of the DisOriental Family, with a love of global beats and electronica and beyond. Always on the look out for new music, local and far, send it to me and…

A creative media alumni of Bradford College, Adam’s passions range from fictional universes to Bradford and just simply how things work. Constantly enthusing about his favourite stuff in film, TV, video-games and more, presenting The Fandomain every fourth Thursday (or…

Tim has been involved with BCB since its very first broadcast as Bradford Festival Radio, right through the cable broadcasts to the present day. He’s been on many different programmes over this time, but has always presented the folk programme.…

Ann Morgan hails from Wales and is interested in politics at every level, art, music (learning the harp) and literature. Her writing has lapsed over the years to allow more time for her passion for the spoken word on air.…

Carole presents One To One on Thursdays at 12 noon, repeated Fridays 9am, where she interviews the key movers and shakers and active citizens of Bradford and district about their lives, work and passions, and plays eight of their music…

Ben Mussanzi wa Mussangu is renowned for his healing laughter. You will know that Ben is around if you hear somebody laughing like an angel. He doesn’t follow the rules of broadcasting in this matter. He is known as Papa…

Mike presents The Man in the Station, an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, soul, folk and rock music broadcast on Sundays 11-12pm –  “An hour of music that I like,” to quote. Mike has been involved in the local music…

Joe joined BCB in 2001 and has worked on many shows over the years. Besides his work in radio, he also runs a film company called 4WordsMediaNorth. You can see many of his films on his You Tube channel of…

Ali is originally from West Africa, where he worked as a school teacher and an examiner of English in The Gambia for four years after his university graduation in Sierra Leone. He then worked as a print media journalist on…

Despite his East London origin, Tony has actually lived most of his life up north and has been firmly resident in Shipley for some years. After supporting a number of The Record Club radio shows, they told him to go…

Adam Paterson is our autistic weather presenter. He is very interested in the weather and using social media. He predicts the weather and presents BCB forecasts, including the weather fivecasts. He also presents some BCB Xtra music shows. He is…

Rare soul or northern soul Joyous uptempo or mournful downbeat Wonderfully happy or blisteringly sad Big city lights or one room dirt shack. Rare soul or northern soul call it what you want – Shades Of Soul with Derek Pearson.

Jonathan is BCB’s Broadcast Manager & Head of Sport. When he’s not in the office you can usually find him broadcasting at a cricket match or boxing bout. Jonathan loves radio, media production, comedy and sport – sometimes all at…

Martin subjects the airwaves of Bradford and virtual beyonds to what he thinks is some pretty terrific bebop, post bebop, contemporary and modern jazz. He concentrates on UK and continental jazz, with a strong presence for UK jazz from the…

Originally from Leicester but a resident of Bradford and Shipley since the early 1990s, Rob presents the Record Club show, an offshoot of the successful Shipley Record Club. Playing new and classic tunes on trusty (and sometimes dusty) vinyl, Rob…

Henri is a born-and-bred 24 year old Bradfordian who still finds himself positively surprised by Bradford life. “My own thirst for life is quenched by a diverse range of activities and pleasures, including music, arts and culture,” he says, “whether…

Stewart is the results secretary for the Bradford Mutual Sunday School Cricket League. He has played cricket in the league for about 40 years. He started with Greenfield and moved to Daisy Hill Meths about 25 years ago. Stewart used…

Maureen is a retired youth worker who has worked in the community for over 25 years. Her journey into volunteering on the radio came through supporting a group of young people from Bradford Youth Service. She enjoys listening to a…

Sandra loves African-Caribbean culture, music and arts, and especially enjoys reading African-Caribbean literature. Amongst her most memorable moments were hearing Maya Angelou do a reading at Ilkley Literature Festival, and going to the 2012 Olympics with members of her family…

Kirran is a writer, journalist and broadcaster. She is particularly interested in how poetry, prose and spoken word translate to broadcast and regularly presents Drive and Poetry Out Loud, where she interviews local poets and spoken word performers. Kirran previously…

Joe is a retired teacher/lecturer. He is married with lots of offspring, to the third generation. He was born in Ireland, and his partner is also from Ireland. He has been involved in Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann – the Irish Music…

Gail co-presents Dime Time with Stevie Le Shaw. Gail also runs Al’s Dime Bar with Stevie, and can almost always be found rolling her eyes at his antics, or trying to get him to behave. Gail is a huge fan…

A Yellerbelly in Yorkshire, Maria has been wreaking havoc on the airwaves with Buffet since 2009. Buffet prides itself on serving up a nice spread every month, including everything from hardcore punk to cheesy listening. When not indulging her passion…

Daver is part of the IT Stuff programme, brought to you by the Bradford Linux Users Group. Their core mission is to explain about the good stuff in IT and to treat the bad stuff with the contempt it deserves.…

Andy is a regular presenter of the monthly Equity Show covering lesbian and gay current affairs. He can also often be heard covering live events for BCB, including the annual Bradford Pride. Originally from Lancashire, Andy crossed the Pennines to…

Michael produces and presents The Equity Show, a monthly LGBT current affairs show, as well as presenting Sports Centre for some of the mid-week live sport fixtures on BCB. He was born and bred in Bradford and has always had…

Mahmud has been at BCB for 15 years – he presents Bradford Spice, a music show in Urdu and Punjabi broadcast on Wednesdays, and has also presented a politics programme. In his spare time he likes to write poetry in…

Nick Toczek is a professional writer and performer. He works worldwide touring schools as a poet, storyteller, magician and puppeteer. He’s a columnist, reviewer and features writer for UK music mag R2. He’s published more than forty books, mostly of…

Val is one of the team presenting Senior Moments, a fortnightly magazine programme for older listeners – although you don’t have to be over 50 to listen. ‘I’m fairly new to BCB and I just love everything about making our…

Donnel – Mr Charisma! – is fanatic about all music genres and positivity. He delivers the feelgood music every Friday afternoon to get you in the weekend mood. He’s been a volunteer with BCB for over three years, a keen…

Rob presents Blowin: ‘World-class music radio. Blowin plays what it likes, which is plenty.’ Or so he claims. Another definition: ‘blowin – playing music in an unrestrained, unstructured, or improvisational style’. Anyroad, find out for yourselves Sunday evenings 9pm or…

Penny is a lively and active member of the Bradford community – you’ll often see her at events and activities that have the good of Bradford at heart. Based at an organisation called KIVCA, she currently heads the equalities and…

Tina started with BCB in 1999, on the same training course as Alan Keeling. Together they’ve presented The Afternoon Stretch ever since. Being Leader of the Bradford Writers’ Circle, Tina also started The Scribe Show, interviewing writers of all abilities…

Cath is a retired teacher and a governor at a local nursery school and children’s centre. She became interested in textiles heritage after attending a creative textiles class, and she volunteers for BCB and the National Trust. And along with…

Clive works for Bradford Community Voluntary Service as a Community Centre Support Worker. He has lived in Bradford since 1994 and presents the show With A Little Help From My Friends, which celebrates the joys of community in Bradford.