Simon Mayo

Mayo's parents, Derek Mayo (1929–2001) and Jill, were both schoolteachers.

Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022.

Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods.

He graduated from the University of Warwick in 1981, with a degree in history and politics.

His mother had undertaken part-time work in radio, and having occasionally experienced it with her, Mayo had wanted to work as a studio manager.

But as a result of a frequency deficiency in his left ear, he failed the required hearing test, and refocused his career on presenting.

Mayo spent some time honing his skills at Southlands Hospital Radio, and then worked for five years as a presenter with BBC Radio Nottingham from 10:45am to 2pm, followed by Dennis McCarthy.

With a Radio Nottingham colleague he developed a programme format called Globe Phone and sent it to Johnny Beerling, Head of Radio 1, who offered him a job.

From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio 1, including a five-year stint on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1986, presenting a two-hour Saturday evening show from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

In October 1987 he progressed to the weekend early slots from 6am to 8am and then became presenter of the weekday evening show in January 1988, which went out from 7:30pm to 10pm.

Five months later he was offered the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show, regarded as the most prestigious presentation job in UK radio.

Mayo spent five years presenting Radio 1 Breakfast on BBC Radio 1.

Throughout his tenure on the breakfast show, which was based on a "zoo" format, Mayo was joined by news anchor Rod McKenzie and by a sidekick weather and travel presenter: first Carol Dooley, then Sybil Ruscoe, Jackie Brambles, and the late Dianne Oxberry.

Weather and travel news reader stand-ins include Mayo's Radio 1 colleague Lynn Parsons, Caron Keating (from Blue Peter and Songs of Praise), and Philippa Forrester (from CBBC).

The show's producer was Ric Blaxill, who also made regular speaking contributions.

He started his first breakfast show by playing "Somewhere in My Heart" by Aztec Camera, which was preceded by a montage of previous breakfast show hosts and then Mayo himself saying 'It's me, Simon Mayo, good morning.'

The programme became known for various features, including On This Day in History, sound-tracked by a looped version of George Michael's "I Want Your Sex"; the long-running cryptic game The Identik-Hit Quiz, where Mayo and his co hosts would act out a short scene which cryptically led listeners to the title of a hit song; and his Confessions feature where members of the public sought absolution for their (often frivolous or humorous) "sins".

Mayo had already presented the dilemma show Scruples for BBC television, and had joined his Radio 1 colleagues on the host roster for Top of the Pops.

Both On This Day in History and Confessions spawned spin-off books.

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 Your 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.

Like all Radio 1's high-profile presenters of the time, Mayo would take his turn to spend a week in a coastal area of the UK during the Radio 1 Roadshows which ran for two months of the summer.

For a short while, he also presented an additional weekend show for the station on a Sunday afternoon, provisionally titled O Solomon Mayo, to cover for the absent Phillip Schofield, who was working in the West End.

Mayo formally gave up the breakfast show in 1993, though he had been on an extended period of paternity leave when the announcement was made.

His stand-in Mark Goodier was his replacement.

Mayo took over the station's mid morning slot on 25 October 1993, where he remained until February 2001.

In addition to this, in May 1994, he presented Simon Mayo's Classic Years, where he played two hours of classic pop tunes.

The show originally went out on a Sunday lunchtime from noon till 2pm, but in November 1994 went out from 10am till noon on Sundays.

This lasted until October 1995.

In January 1997, Mayo made a brief return to the breakfast show for three weeks after Chris Evans was dismissed, but both Mayo and BBC Radio 1 ruled out the possibilities of a permanent return to the programme.

On his first morning as breakfast stand-in, Mayo read out an email from a man who had emigrated to New Zealand four years earlier and had arrived back in the UK that morning, and was "delighted to hear you're still doing the breakfast show".

In 1999 Mayo broke a world record by broadcasting for 37 hours in aid of that year's Comic Relief.

From 2001 he presented on BBC Radio 5 Live: from his debut until 2009 on a daily afternoon programme, and since then until 2022 with Kermode and Mayo's Film Review on Fridays.

In 2008, Mayo was recognised as the "Radio Broadcaster of the Year" at the 34th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, and the "Speech Broadcaster of the Year" at the Sony Radio Academy Awards, receiving the latter for his "ability to paint colourful pictures of location and event and his ability to bring the very best out of his guests, encouraging conversation and interaction between them while skilfully nudging and controlling them" and for being "a master of light and shade, handling serious and lighter issues with aplomb."

Mayo is also a published author.

His works include a book titled Confessions, based on the Confessions slot from his radio shows, and several fictional thrillers.

He attended St John's Primary School in Croydon, Surrey, the Arden School in Knowle (for one term), the independent Solihull School (where his nickname, according to a newspaper profile in 2008, was "Heinz", after the mayonnaise brand) and Worthing High School for Boys in West Sussex which was then a state grammar school for boys.

Between January 2010 to December 2018 he was the presenter of Simon Mayo Drivetime on BBC Radio 2, for the final six months with co-host Jo Whiley.

Since March 2021, Simon Mayo Drivetime has returned on Greatest Hits Radio.