Simon Mayo

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. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio 1, including five years on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. From 2001 he presented on BBC Radio 5 Live: from his debut until 2009 on a daily afternoon programme, and from 2009 until 2022 with Kermode and Mayo's Film Review on Fridays. Between January 2010 and December 2018 he was the presenter of Simon Mayo Drivetime on BBC Radio 2, for the final six months with co-host Jo Whiley. In addition to his programme on 5 Live, Mayo originally joined Radio 2 between October 2001 and April 2008 to host a weekly Album Chart Show, followed by the station's Music Club Weekly. Since March 2021, Simon Mayo Drivetime has returned on Greatest Hits Radio. In 2008, Mayo was named 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 a published author. His works include a book titled Confessions, based on the Confessions slot from his radio shows, and several fictional thrillers.