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.”
Casinos sponsoring two Premier League clubs are accepting UK customers without a licence, putting club officers at risk of prosecution, Sky News has learned.
The gambling websites, BC.Game and DEBET, are the matchday shirt sponsors of Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, respectively.
But an investigation by anti-gambling advert campaigners, shared with Sky News, suggests the casinos have continued to accept UK customers – despite this becoming unlawful after they lost their licences to operate in the UK.
DEBET lost its licence on 15 May, while BC.Game lost its licence in December 2024.
Neither club has indicated that they intend to end the sponsorships, despite criticism from campaigners and warnings from the Gambling Commission.
With the end of the 2024/25 season this weekend, both clubs are now half-way through two-year sponsorship deals with the casinos – putting them in a difficult position for next season.
The campaign group Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA) told Sky News it was able to make deposits on both gambling websites, despite the sites having no licence to accept UK customers.
CEGA also successfully deposited cash on Burnley FC sponsor 96.com. Burnley are due to be promoted to the Premier League next season.
The findings come one week after the Gambling Commission warned five football clubs, including Wolverhampton and Burnley, that their officers “may be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain”.
The Commission had issued a similar warning to Leicester City in February.
It made clear then that the clubs must either cut ties with the casinos or ensure they are not accessible to UK customers “by any means” – including virtual private networks (VPNs) – software used to hide a user’s real location.
Other than the need to use a VPN, CEGA director Will Prochaska says it “really wasn’t very difficult” to access the sites.
The Gambling Commission declined to be interviewed by Sky News, but said that “where we have evidence that meets the standard for criminal prosecution we will take appropriate action”.
Head of enforcement at the Commission John Pierce previously said the body would “conduct ongoing spot checks as necessary to ensure they are not accessible to consumers in Great Britain by any means”.
Mr Prochaska, however, said the Commission was taking “far too long” to take action.
“Far too many children, far too many football fans, are seeing these adverts every day,” he said. “It’s got to stop.”
Leicester City’s sponsor has had no UK licence for almost six months
The three sites that appear on the matchday shirts of Leicester, Wolves and Burnley were previously licensed by TGP Europe, a company based on the Isle of Man.
On 15 May, TGP Europe surrendered its UK gambling licence to avoid a £3.3m fine, leaving DEBET and 96.com unable to legally accept UK customers.
Leicester City sponsor BC.Game has been unlicensed in the UK since it parted ways with TGP Europe in December 2024 – almost six months ago.
Jamie Vardy celebrating scoring for Leicester City last December.
Pic: PA
Mr Prochaska said he contacted Leicester City on 13 March to alert them that BC.Game was still accepting UK customers.
“In fact, it was one of the easiest for me to gamble on – there were very few checks whatsoever,” he says. “But Leicester don’t seem to have done anything about it, and it’s still on the front of their shirts.”
Leicester City FC did not respond to a request for comment.
Sky News was able to sign up to every single site
Bournemouth, Fulham and Newcastle United are also sponsored by casinos that were formerly licensed by TGP Europe, but have been unlicensed since 15 May.
These casinos (bj88, SBOTOP and FUN88) are no longer able to legally accept UK customers.
However, Sky News was able to use a VPN to sign up to all three casinos, as well as those sponsoring Leicester City, Wolverhampton and Burnley.
On all six websites, Sky was able to access QR codes for making cryptocurrency deposits. Sky News did not attempt to make any deposits.
All six casinos are forbidden by law from accepting UK customers.
Yet Burnley sponsor 96.com allowed Sky News to sign up using a Telegram account registered to a UK phone number.
The other websites all required phone numbers to be entered upon registration, which could be used as an additional layer of security to filter out UK customers.
However, most of the websites did not check whether the phone number provided was genuine.
Only one website, Leicester City sponsor BC.Game, did check.
However, after confirming the phone number’s authenticity, BC.Game allowed registration to proceed – even though Sky News had provided a UK phone number.
Sky News presented these findings to the football clubs concerned, to TGP Europe and to the Gambling Commission, but did not receive any comment.
Anyone concerned about their gambling, or that of a loved one, can visit BeGambleAware.org for free, confidential advice and support, or The National Gambling Helpline is available on 0808 8020 133 and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Alan Yentob, the former BBC presenter and executive, has died aged 78.
A statement from his family, shared by the BBC, said Yentob died on Saturday.
His wife Philippa Walker said: “For Jacob, Bella and I, every day with Alan held the promise of something unexpected. Our life was exciting, he was exciting.
“He was curious, funny, annoying, late, and creative in every cell of his body. But more than that, he was the kindest of men and a profoundly moral man. He leaves in his wake a trail of love a mile wide.”
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Yentob joined the BBC as a trainee in 1968 and held a number of positions – including controller of BBC One and BBC Two, director of television, and head of music and art.
He was also the director of BBC drama, entertainment, and children’s TV.
Yentob launched CBBC and CBeebies, and his drama commissions included Pride And Prejudice and Middlemarch.
Alan Yentob (left) with former BBC director general Tony Hall in 2012. Pic: Reuters.
The TV executive was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the King in 2024 for services to the arts and media.
In a tribute, the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie said: “Alan Yentob was a towering figure in British broadcasting and the arts. A creative force and a cultural visionary, he shaped decades of programming at the BBC and beyond, with a passion for storytelling and public service that leave a lasting legacy.
“Above all, Alan was a true original. His passion wasn’t performative – it was personal. He believed in the power of culture to enrich, challenge and connect us.”
BBC Radio 4 presenter Amol Rajan described him on Instagram as “such a unique and kind man: an improbable impresario from unlikely origins who became a towering figure in the culture of post-war Britain.
“I commend his spirit to the living.”
A mother and three of her children who died in a house fire in northwest London have been named by police.
Warning: This article contains pictures of a fire in which people died
Detectives say Nusrat Usman, 43, Maryam Mikaiel, 15, Musa Usman, eight, and Raees Usman, four, died following the fire in Stonebridge, near Wembley, in the early hours of Saturday.
A woman in her 70s was taken to hospital but has since been released. A 13-year-old girl remains in hospital in a critical condition.
A 41-year-old man was arrested at the scene and has since been bailed. He was subsequently detained under the Mental Health Act.
The blaze gutted two homes in Stonebridge
Flowers and a blue teddy bear have been left near the scene, where crews wearing helmets and respiratory equipment were seen building scaffolding against the burnt-out buildings.
Neighbour Cecilia Marquis, 60, said she was “stunned by the devastation”.
“This will leave a devastating impact,” Ms Marquis, who witnessed the fire, said.
Witness Mohamed Labidi, 38, said he “can’t even look at the house right now”.
“We used to socialise together.
“They’re very good people, no problems on their side at all. It’s really shocking. It’s a really strong community here, we look after each other.”
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s horrible, we saw people running outside.
“It’s hard to process. I only just moved in, so it’s hard to think about it.”
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Emergency services on the scene. Pic: PA
Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters responded to the blaze, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.
Two terrace houses, each with three floors, were severely damaged in the fire, which was under control by around 3.25am, the fire service added.
Superintendent Steve Allen, from the Met’s local policing team in northwest London, said: “Our thoughts go out to all those impacted by what has happened.
“Specialist officers are continuing to support the wider family who have asked for privacy at this deeply upsetting time.
“Local officers are working closely with officers from the Specialist Crime Command on what continues to be a very complex investigation.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a post on X: “This is devastating news and my thoughts are with the family, friends and wider community of the four people who sadly have lost their lives.
“I remain in close contact with the London Fire Brigade and Metropolitan Police as they work to establish the cause of the fire and offer support to all those impacted.”
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