Most of the BBC’s flagship radio breakfast shows experienced a notable increase in listenership towards the close of last year, according to newly released figures.
While programmes fronted by Greg James on Radio 1, Scott Mills on Radio 2, and the breakfast slots on Radio 3 and Five Live all saw their audiences grow between October and December 2025 compared to the previous three months, Radio 4’s Today programme registered a slight decline.
Scott Mills achieved an average weekly audience of 6.47 million in the final quarter of 2025, a rise from 6.16 million in the preceding period and his highest figure since he began hosting the Radio 2 breakfast show earlier that year.
Despite this gain, his listenership remains marginally lower than Zoe Ball’s final stint, which drew an average of 6.83 million in October-December 2024.
A similar pattern emerged for Greg James, whose Radio 1 show attracted 3.87 million listeners in the three months to December.
This represents an increase from 3.82 million in the prior quarter, though it falls short of the 4.10 million recorded a year earlier.
In contrast, both Radio 3 and Five Live’s breakfast programmes demonstrated consistent growth, adding listeners both quarterly and annually. These insights are drawn from the latest data published by the research body Rajar.
The Radio 3 programme, hosted by Tom McKinney, had an average weekly audience of 840,000 in October-December 2025, up sharply by 22 per cent from 687,000 in July-September and a rise of 2 per cent from 827,000 in October-December 2024.
Five Live’s breakfast show had 1.48 million listeners in the latest quarter, up 16 per cent from 1.27 million in the previous quarter and up 5 per cent year on year from 1.41 million.
The average audience for Radio 4’s Today programme stood at 5.47 million at the end of last year, down very slightly from 5.49 million on the quarter and a drop of 5 per cent year on year from 5.74 million.
Radio 2 has lost nearly two million listeners since autumn 2021, when Rajar resumed reporting after a gap caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It remains the UK’s most popular station, however, with an average weekly audience in October-December 2025 of 12.71 million.
This is down slightly from 12.79 million on the previous three months and a drop of 7 per cent from 13.65 million a year earlier.
Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: “In a quarter where Sara Cox ran five marathons in five days, with the listeners getting behind her to raise an astonishing £12 million for Children In Need, I’m thrilled that Radio 2 continues to be the UK’s most listened to single radio station.
“Vernon Kay continues to be the most listened to show on UK radio, growing to 6.7 million listeners each week.
“Many thanks go to the Radio 2 listeners, who are tuning in for just over 11 hours each week, a four-year record.”
Radios 3 and 4 both grew their overall average audiences in the latest quarter, with Radio 3 up 6 per cent to 1.91 million and Radio 4 up 1 per cent to 8.92 million.
Listeners to Radios 1 and Five Live fell slightly on the quarter, by 3 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.
The latest Rajar figures also show that audiences for the commercial radio station Greatest Hits have dropped 20 per cent in a year, from 7.37 million in October-December 2024 to 5.91 million in October-December 2025.
This is the lowest number of weekly listeners to the station since April-June 2023.
Among the smaller news-based stations, Times Radio had an average of 542,000 listeners across the three months to December, down 4 per cent on the previous quarter and a drop of 10 per cent on the year.
GB News averaged 672,000 listeners in the latest quarter, down 2 per cent on the quarter but up steeply by 44 per cent year on year.
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