Broadcast icon Annie Nightingale – Radio 1’s first female DJ – has died
Broadcast icon Annie Nightingale – Radio 1’s first female DJ – has died, the BBC has said.
Nightingale, who was 83, started presenting on Radio 1 in 1970 and became its longest-serving broadcaster, hosting her show Annie Nightingale presents… until recently.
She was awarded an MBE in 2002 and a CBE in 2020. In 2004, Nightingale became the first female DJ from Radio 1 to be inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame.
In a statement, her family said she died at home in London on Thursday, following a short illness.
They paid tribute to “a pioneer, trailblazer and an inspiration to many” and described how she became a role model for generations of young women.
“Her impulse to share that enthusiasm with audiences remained undimmed after six decades of broadcasting on BBC TV and radio globally,” Nightingale’s family said.
“Never underestimate the role model she became. Breaking down doors by refusing to bow down to sexual prejudice and male fear gave encouragement to generations of young women who, like Annie, only wanted to tell you about an amazing tune they had just heard.
“Watching Annie do this on television in the 1970s, most famously as a presenter on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test, or hearing her play the latest breakbeat techno on Radio One is testimony to someone who never stopped believing in the magic of rock ‘n’ roll.”
With Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook, in 2001
A celebration of Nightingale’s life will take place in the spring, they said.
Radio 1 shared a photo of the renowned DJ on social media, saying the station was “extremely saddened” about her death.
Director general Tim Davie described her as “a uniquely gifted broadcaster who blessed us with her love of music and passion for journalism, for over 50 years”, as well as “a trailblazer for new music” and a “champion for female broadcasters, supporting and encouraging other women to enter the industry”.
Head of Radio 1 Aled Haydn Jones described Nightingale as “a world-class DJ, broadcaster and journalist”, who championed new music and new artists “throughout her entire career”.
He added: “We have lost a broadcasting legend and, thanks to Annie, things will never be the same.”
Greg James, Zoe Ball, Jo Whiley and more pay tribute
Jo Whiley and Annie Nightingale
Nightingale first broadcast on the BBC in 1963 as a panellist on Juke Box Jury, before joining Radio 1 seven years later.
She remained the station’s only female DJ until 1982, which saw the arrival of Janice Long, and is credited with helping to pave the way for the likes of Sara Cox, Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball.
Whiley described her as “the coolest woman who ever graced the airwaves”.
Sharing a black and white picture of the broadcaster in a radio studio on X, formerly known as Twitter, Whiley wrote: “She blazed a trail for us all and never compromised. Her passion for music never diminished.”
James, who presents the Radio 1 breakfast show, said on X that Nightingale’s life and achievements “were so extraordinary you couldn’t possibly sum them up on here”.
He continued: “It was such a treat if you happened to be in the building at the same time as her.
“She was always so interested in what everyone else was up to. We’re going to miss her so much. She was just absolutely amazing.”
Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, real name Annie Macmanus, praised Nightingale for changing “the face and sound of British TV and Radio broadcasting forever”.
She told how before Nightingale started in the ’70s, “it was legitimately believed by BBC bosses that people didn’t want to hear women’s voices” on the radio.
She continued: “Radio DJs were seen as husband substitutes for the wives who listened at home. God forbid British women might want to listen to other women.”
Nightingale “smashed through all the sexist stereotypes of what kind of broadcaster a woman should be” and “was always the epitome of ‘cool'”, Macmanus said, with the “messiest desk in our office, the best outfits, and the most outrageous stories to tell”.
Radio 2 breakfast host Ball, who was the first female host of the flagship show for both Radio 1 and Radio 2, said Nightingale “could outlast any of us at the party”.
Paying tribute, she said: “The original trailblazer for us women in radio. She loved music like no other… So grateful for all the love & support she offered me over the years.
“What a dame… rest well.”
Glastonbury Festival co-organiser Emily Eavis also joined the tributes, sharing on Instagram how the DJ helped her when she was younger.
“Goodbye dear Annie, a female trailblazer and true enthusiast,” she wrote. “Annie gave me so much support when I was in my twenties, I always felt so grateful to have such a strong woman encouraging me along the way and I’m sure she has done the same for many others like me.
“She was an inspiration to so many women in music, broadcasting and beyond and just a lovely human being.”
Nigel Farage has said he would scrap the UK’s human rights law to enable the mass deportation of illegal migrants, as the government reportedly prepares to send more than 100 small boat arrivals back to France.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph ahead of a speech later today, the Reform leader said the Human Rights Act would be ripped up should he become prime minister.
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He would also take the country out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and other international treaties, describing them as “malign influences” which had been “allowed to frustrate deportations”.
Pulling Britain out of the ECHR would make it one of only three European countries not signed up – the others being Russia and Belarus.
The UK’s Human Rights Act, Reform say, would be replaced by a British Bill of Rights. This would only apply to British citizens and those with a legal right to live in the UK.
Small boat arrivals would have no right to claim asylum. They would be housed at old military bases before being deported to their country of origin, or third countries like Rwanda.
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Will Starmer’s migration tough talk deliver?
One in, one out
Sir Keir Starmer, meanwhile, is said to be ready to implement one of his major policies to tackle the small boats crisis within weeks.
According to The Times, the one in, one out migrant deal he signed with France’s Emmanuel Macron earlier this summer will soon see more than 100 people sent back.
The newspaper reported there are dozens of migrants currently in detention, including some arrested over the bank holiday weekend, who could be among the first sent back to France.
In exchange, the UK would be expected to take an equal number of asylum seekers in France with ties to Britain.
Read more: How will the one in, one out deal work?
Sir Keir Starmer hopes his deal with Emmanuel Macron will help. Pic: Reuters
A record 28,288 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year. The total is 46% higher than at the same stage last year.
More boats were seen crossing on Monday, though the figures won’t be published by the Home Office until later.
Sir Keir is under mounting pressure within his own party to grip the issue, with Sir Tony Blair’s former home secretary Lord Blunkett warning the public “will turn on” him.
But they may already have – a YouGov poll over the weekend found 71% of people think the prime minister is dealing with the small boats crisis badly.
Protests have taken place outside hotels used to house asylum seekers over the weekend, and the government is braced for more legal challenges from councils over their use.
Labour have taken a battering in the opinion polls throughout 2025, with Reform consistently in the lead.
Three people have died following a helicopter crash during a flying lesson on the Isle of Wight.
A fourth person is in hospital in a serious condition following the incident, according to Hampshire Police.
Officers were called to the scene of a “helicopter that had come down” off Shanklin Road near Ventnor at 9.24am on Monday, the force said.
A spokesman for the aircraft’s owner Northumbria Helicopters said G-OCLV – which is listed as a Robinson R44 II helicopter – was involved in the accident during a flying lesson.
Fire and rescue vehicles at the scene near Ventnor. Pic: Stu Southwell
Aerial view of the crash site
Helicopter ‘spiralled out of sight’ – live updates
Four people, including the pilot, were on board the aircraft, which departed nearby Sandown Airport at 9am, the company also said in a statement.
A critical care team, including a doctor and specialist paramedic, was also sent to the crash site, Hants and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance added, alongside fire engines and other emergency vehicles.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch confirmed it was alerted to the incident and is sending a team to investigate. A major incident was declared but has since been stood down.
A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance said in a statement: “We have treated and airlifted one patient to the Major Trauma Centre, University Hospital Southampton. Our thoughts are with them, and everyone involved in today’s incident.”
Darren Toogood, editor and publisher at the Island Echo, told Sky News presenter Kamali Melbourne the helicopter crashed on a “significantly busy, high-speed road” between the village of Godshill and the seaside town of Shanklin.
“It was on one of the first flights of the day,” he said.
“It’s a bank holiday weekend in August on the Isle of Wight. It’s an incredibly busy area. Lots of tourists down at the moment. It appears no vehicles were involved, which is incredible, given how busy this road would have been this morning.”
A witness, Leigh Goldsmith, told the Isle of Wight County Press she saw the helicopter “spiralling” before crashing into a hedge as she drove along the road.
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Police have closed Shanklin Road, blocking it off with several emergency vehicles, and are warning people to avoid the area.
Northumbria Helicopters said it is “giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident”.
UK
Ten organisations write urgent letter to home secretary over violence against women and girls strategy
Ten child protection organisations have written an urgent letter to the home secretary expressing concern about the omission of child sexual abuse from the government’s violence against women and girls strategy, following a Sky News report.
Groups including the NSPCC, Barnardo’s and The Internet Watch Foundation wrote to Yvette Cooper to say that violence against women and girls (VAWG) and child sexual abuse are “inherently and deeply connected”, suggesting any “serious strategy” to address VAWG needs to focus on child sexual abuse and exploitation.
The letter comes after Sky News revealed an internal Home Office document, titled Our draft definition of VAWG, which said that child sexual abuse and exploitation is not “explicitly within the scope” of their strategy, due to be published in September.
Poppy Eyre when she was four years old
Responding to Sky News’ original report, Poppy Eyre, who was sexually abused and raped by her grandfather when she was four, said: “VAWG is – violence against women and girls. If you take child sexual abuse out of it, where are the girls?”
The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, which is funded by the Home Office and a signatory to the letter, estimates 500,000 children in England and Wales are sexually abused every year.
The NSPCC “welcome” the government’s pledge to halve VAWG in a decade, but is “worried that if they are going to fulfil this commitment, the strategy absolutely has to include clear deliverable objectives to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation too”, the head of policy, Anna Edmundson, told Sky News.
Poppy is a survivor of child sexual abuse
She warned the government “will miss a golden opportunity” and the needs of thousands of girls will be “overlooked” if child sexual abuse and exploitation is not “at the heart of its flagship strategy”.
The government insists the VAWG programme will include action to tackle child sexual abuse, but says it also wants to create a distinctive plan to “ensure those crimes get the specialist response they demand”.
“My message to the government is that if you’re going to make child sexual abuse a separate thing, we need it now,” Poppy told Sky News.
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Rape Crisis, which is one of the largest organisations providing support to women in England and Wales, shares these concerns.
It wants plans to tackle child sexual abuse to be part of the strategy, and not to sit outside it.
The internal Home Office document detailing its violence against women and girls strategy
“If a violence against women and girls strategy doesn’t include sexual violence towards girls, then it runs the risk of being a strategy for addressing some violence towards some females, but not all,” chief executive Ciara Bergman said.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government is “working tirelessly to tackle the appalling crimes of violence against women and girls and child sexual exploitation and abuse, as part of our Safer Streets mission”.
“We are already investing in new programmes and introducing landmark laws to overhaul the policing and criminal justice response to these crimes, as well as acting on the recommendations of Baroness Casey’s review into group-based Child Sexual Exploitation, and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse,” they added.
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