Stuart Linnell
Encyclopedia
Stuart Linnell MBE, BA HonMA is a broadcaster who is particularly well known in the Coventry
and Warwickshire
area, and in Northamptonshire
. He was involved with Coventry
based Mercia Sound for 15 years and also presented the breakfast shows at both BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
and BBC WM
(which serves Birmingham
and the wider West Midlands
).
He currently presents the weekday Lunchtime Consumer Show on BBC Radio Northampton
and The Sunday Breakfast Show and the Sky Blues Live football show on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
.
His commercial radio career saw him spend 6 years at Radio Hallam in Sheffield (where he also appeared from time to time on the regional ITV station Yorkshire Television
). He also worked for BRMB
in Birmingham, RAM FM
in Derby and Leicester Sound
. In 1995, he returned to the BBC to host radio and TV programmes in the Midlands, including the Breakfast Shows on BBC WM
and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
. After some years freelancing for various radio and TV stations, and a short time with the ill-fated commercial radio group Laser Broadcasting, he returned to front-line presenting on BBC local radio in 2009.. Since then he has presented programmes for BBC Radio Derby
, BBC Oxford
and BBC Hereford & Worcester, as well as his regular shows for BBC Radio Northampton
and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
.
On television Stuart has presented the Saturday evening edition of Midlands Today
on BBC One
the Sunday lunchtime TV programme 'The Midlands At Westminster' on BBC Two
(the forerunner to The Politics Show
).
He has worked for the UK national radio stations BBC Radio Five Live and TalkSport
and for the Irish national commercial station Today FM
. He has also been a TV reporter for Sky Sports News
and for Setanta Sports
TV.
Stuart was made an MBE
for services to broadcasting in 1995. He has won three Sony Radio Academy Awards - the most coveted awards in UK radio – one of them the Gold Award for the UK’s best speech-based Breakfast Show in 1997. Indeed his BBC WM
Breakfast Show won Silver and Gold Sony's in successive years (1996 & 1997).
He received Gold and Bronze Awards at the International Radio Festival of New York for the programme formats of Mercia Sound and Leicester Sound
and, in 1999, he received an Honorary MA from Coventry University
in recognition of his work as a broadcaster and for his services to the community in Coventry and Warwickshire. At the end of 2007 he graduated with a BA Honours in Humanities with Literature after 6 years study with the Open University
.
In 2010, his Sunday Breakfast Show on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
received a Merit Award in the Sandford St. Martin
Religious Radio Awards for a series called "Dear God" in which listeners were invited to send in their messages to God, some of which were read out on air. They ranged from the upbeat to the loneliness of bereavement and were pinned to a board displayed first at the radio station and later in Coventry Cathedral
.
Alongside his broadcasting career, Stuart is one of the UK's leading conference moderators and facilitators and he regularly hosts awards events and other black-tie occasions.
Stuart stepped down in 2008 after two years as Chairman of the Coventry
Branch of the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and he remains a member of the Chamber's main board.
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
and Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
area, and in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. He was involved with Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
based Mercia Sound for 15 years and also presented the breakfast shows at both BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire is the BBC Local Radio service serving the City of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire. It broadcasts on 94.8, 103.7 and 104 MHz FM, DAB Digital Radio and is streamed on the internet via the ....
and BBC WM
BBC WM
BBC WM is the BBC Local Radio service for the West Midlands, South Staffordshire, north Worcestershire and north Warwickshire, operated by BBC Birmingham. Launched on 9 November 1970 as BBC Radio Birmingham, it broadcasts from central Birmingham on 95.6 FM, DAB and on the internet...
(which serves Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and the wider West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
).
He currently presents the weekday Lunchtime Consumer Show on BBC Radio Northampton
BBC Radio Northampton
BBC Radio Northampton is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Northamptonshire. It broadcasts from its studios in Broadcasting House, Northampton on 104.2 and 103.6 FM. The station also has two studios in Daventry and Corby...
and The Sunday Breakfast Show and the Sky Blues Live football show on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire is the BBC Local Radio service serving the City of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire. It broadcasts on 94.8, 103.7 and 104 MHz FM, DAB Digital Radio and is streamed on the internet via the ....
.
Career
After starting his professional broadcasting career with BBC Radio Birmingham in 1970, Stuart was part of the launch team at Coventry's Mercia Sound in 1980. He stayed at Mercia for 15 years, initially as Sports Editor and afternoon show presenter going on to be Managing Director and Programme Controller.His commercial radio career saw him spend 6 years at Radio Hallam in Sheffield (where he also appeared from time to time on the regional ITV station Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
). He also worked for BRMB
Brmb
brmb is a local radio station based in Birmingham, UK, owned and operated by Orion Media. The station broadcasts on 96.4 FM, DAB Digital Radio in the West Midlands and online...
in Birmingham, RAM FM
RAM FM
Ram FM was an Independent Local Radio station, which broadcast to central and southern parts of Derbyshire on 102.8 FM. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Leicester Sound to form Capital FM East Midlands on Monday 3 January 2011.-History:The station began life...
in Derby and Leicester Sound
Leicester Sound
Leicester Sound was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Leicestershire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands on Monday 3 January 2011.-Background:Leicester Sound was launched by the owners of Radio Trent on...
. In 1995, he returned to the BBC to host radio and TV programmes in the Midlands, including the Breakfast Shows on BBC WM
BBC WM
BBC WM is the BBC Local Radio service for the West Midlands, South Staffordshire, north Worcestershire and north Warwickshire, operated by BBC Birmingham. Launched on 9 November 1970 as BBC Radio Birmingham, it broadcasts from central Birmingham on 95.6 FM, DAB and on the internet...
and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire is the BBC Local Radio service serving the City of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire. It broadcasts on 94.8, 103.7 and 104 MHz FM, DAB Digital Radio and is streamed on the internet via the ....
. After some years freelancing for various radio and TV stations, and a short time with the ill-fated commercial radio group Laser Broadcasting, he returned to front-line presenting on BBC local radio in 2009.. Since then he has presented programmes for BBC Radio Derby
BBC Radio Derby
BBC Radio Derby is the BBC Local Radio station for the English county of Derbyshire, covering all but the northern tip of the county, and also serves eastern Staffordshire, mainly Uttoxeter and Burton upon Trent. The station broadcasts from its studios in Derby on 104.5, 95.3 and 96.0 FM and 1116...
, BBC Oxford
BBC Oxford
BBC Oxford is the name given to the sub-opt out region serving Oxford and the surrounding areas. Its services include:*BBC Oxford News, the local news service called BBC Oxford on screen...
and BBC Hereford & Worcester, as well as his regular shows for BBC Radio Northampton
BBC Radio Northampton
BBC Radio Northampton is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Northamptonshire. It broadcasts from its studios in Broadcasting House, Northampton on 104.2 and 103.6 FM. The station also has two studios in Daventry and Corby...
and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire is the BBC Local Radio service serving the City of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire. It broadcasts on 94.8, 103.7 and 104 MHz FM, DAB Digital Radio and is streamed on the internet via the ....
.
On television Stuart has presented the Saturday evening edition of Midlands Today
Midlands Today
Midlands Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for the West Midlands region, which covers the north of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands county...
on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
the Sunday lunchtime TV programme 'The Midlands At Westminster' on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
(the forerunner to The Politics Show
The Politics Show
The Politics Show is an hour long BBC One television political programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays. The programme usually starts at midday, but is often earlier or later when sporting events clash in the schedules. It was launched in 2003 and was originally presented by Jeremy...
).
He has worked for the UK national radio stations BBC Radio Five Live and TalkSport
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
and for the Irish national commercial station Today FM
Today FM
Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100-102 Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station which is available nationally. The station, which commenced broadcasting on Saint Patrick's Day in 1997, can be received nationally and carries a mix of music and talk...
. He has also been a TV reporter for Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News is a 24-hour sports news channel in the United Kingdom. It is run by BSkyB whose sports channels include Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as Sky Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4....
and for Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
TV.
Stuart was made an MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
for services to broadcasting in 1995. He has won three Sony Radio Academy Awards - the most coveted awards in UK radio – one of them the Gold Award for the UK’s best speech-based Breakfast Show in 1997. Indeed his BBC WM
BBC WM
BBC WM is the BBC Local Radio service for the West Midlands, South Staffordshire, north Worcestershire and north Warwickshire, operated by BBC Birmingham. Launched on 9 November 1970 as BBC Radio Birmingham, it broadcasts from central Birmingham on 95.6 FM, DAB and on the internet...
Breakfast Show won Silver and Gold Sony's in successive years (1996 & 1997).
He received Gold and Bronze Awards at the International Radio Festival of New York for the programme formats of Mercia Sound and Leicester Sound
Leicester Sound
Leicester Sound was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Leicestershire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands on Monday 3 January 2011.-Background:Leicester Sound was launched by the owners of Radio Trent on...
and, in 1999, he received an Honorary MA from Coventry University
Coventry University
Coventry University is a post-1992 university in Coventry, West Midlands, England. Under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, the institution's name was changed from Coventry Polytechnic to Coventry University...
in recognition of his work as a broadcaster and for his services to the community in Coventry and Warwickshire. At the end of 2007 he graduated with a BA Honours in Humanities with Literature after 6 years study with the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
.
In 2010, his Sunday Breakfast Show on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire is the BBC Local Radio service serving the City of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire. It broadcasts on 94.8, 103.7 and 104 MHz FM, DAB Digital Radio and is streamed on the internet via the ....
received a Merit Award in the Sandford St. Martin
Sandford St. Martin
Sandford St. Martin is a village and civil parish in West Oxfordshire about east of Chipping Norton and about south of Banbury.The village was known as Sandford until about 1884, when the suffix St. Martin was added to distinguish the village from other local settlements with similar names. The...
Religious Radio Awards for a series called "Dear God" in which listeners were invited to send in their messages to God, some of which were read out on air. They ranged from the upbeat to the loneliness of bereavement and were pinned to a board displayed first at the radio station and later in Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....
.
Alongside his broadcasting career, Stuart is one of the UK's leading conference moderators and facilitators and he regularly hosts awards events and other black-tie occasions.
Stuart stepped down in 2008 after two years as Chairman of the Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
Branch of the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and he remains a member of the Chamber's main board.