Angela Scanlon Takes Over BBC Radio 2 Drivetime

Angela Scanlon will host BBC Radio 2's Drivetime show on weekdays from 4pm to 7pm starting in November. She takes over the slot after Sara Cox moved to the breakfast show earlier this year.

Scanlon found out she had got the job while buying a friend a present in the baby section of John Lewis. She was among several presenters who filled in after Cox vacated the drivetime slot in May, including Joel Dommett, Jason Manford, Ellie Taylor, Alex Jones and Gary Davies.

Scanlon's broadcasting background

Angela Scanlon has extensive experience across television and radio. She started her presenting career on Irish TV with RTÉ One shows Off the Rails and Xposé.

She joined The One Show as a reporter and has presented ITV's This Morning. Scanlon began hosting BBC Two’s Your Home Made Perfect in 2019 and hosted The Apprentice spin-off Unfinished Business on BBC Two. She reached sixth place on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023 and was rumoured to replace Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly as its host, a role that ultimately went to Johannes Radebe, Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis.

On radio, Scanlon made her Radio 2 debut hosting the Sunday early Breakfast Show from 4am until 6am for three years until 2021 and has provided cover for other programmes. She also hosted the Virgin Radio weekend breakfast show after Graham Norton's departure in 2024 and co-hosts the Get A Grip podcast.

Radio 2 controller Helen Thomas described Scanlon as incredibly warm and quick witted and proved to be extremely popular with the Radio 2 audience this summer. Thomas said Drivetime is important for ensuring people get home and start their evenings in a positive and upbeat mood and expressed delight that Angela will take up the reins in November.

Sara Cox and Scott Mills reshuffle

The Drivetime change is part of a broader reshuffle triggered by Sara Cox replacing Scott Mills as BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host. Scott Mills was fired by the BBC in March following an investigation over alleged serious sexual offences against a boy under 16.

Mills was questioned under caution in July 2018, but the Crown Prosecution Service found the evidential threshold was not met to bring charges. He was the BBC’s highest-paid employee until his firing, earning between £745,000 and £749,999 for the year ending in March 2026.

Thomas thanked all the hosts who have presented in the drivetime slot since Sara moved to Breakfast.

Ben Earle to replace Bob Harris

Another significant change sees Ben Earle take over The Radio 2 Country Show after Bob Harris stepped down last year due to health issues. Harris presented the programme since 1990, announcing his departure in June after revealing his prostate cancer had spread to his spine.

Earle, one half of British country group The Shires, has fronted a weekly show on Absolute Radio Country for the past five years. Thomas said Earle's knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for the genre, coupled with his years as a musician and radio experience, make him ideal to replace Bob Harris and expressed a hope that Ben hosts the show for decades to come.

Ben Earle will take over from Bob Harris as presenter of The Radio 2 Country Show, which airs from 9pm to 10pm on Thursdays.

Angela Scanlon said: "Millions of people, all having completely different days, piling into the same conversation for a few hours - what a strange and lovely thing!" She will host the Drivetime show weekdays from 4pm to 7pm starting in November.