This week has seen big change at Radio 1 as Dean McCullough and Vicky Hawkesworth joined forces to host a new daytime show, taking over from the legendary Scott Mills. Their 1pm to 3.30pm show is the first weekday programme to move out of London for broadcast from MediaCity in Salford as part of the BBC’s Across The UK plans, announced by the director general Aled Haydn Jones last year.
The pair, who were both given their first opportunity to host on the station during the 2020 festive period as part of Radio 1’s Christmas Takeover, are thrilled to have had positive feedback in the first days of their new show, while Scott takes over from Steve Wright at Radio 2 and his co-presenter Chris Stark moves to Capital Radio.
"The feedback has been amazing," said Dean. "We thought stepping into Scott and Chris's show it was going to be a minefield because their audience is so loyal.
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"We're part of that audience. I was devastated when I heard Scott and Chris were leaving but I've got to say coming in and seeing the response from everybody online has been a bit unbelieveable. You can tell that they're Scott and Chris fans because they would say 'we were expecting this and we got this' and a lot of them have stayed listening and it's all we wanted for them in this first week to just give us a chance."
He added: "Because we're not trying to replace Scott and Chris, that's a task nobody wants. We're not trying to fill their shoes. We want to make our own shoes and just give us a chance to come on this new chapter with us at Radio One."
Vicky said: "They've been so lovely. You have this fear that they're not going to like us because Scott and Chris were amazing. But the response has been so lovely to see people just going 'we like and we'll stick around.'"
Dean, who had previously hosted the 10.30am-1pm slot on Friday to Sunday, while Bolton-born Vicky hosted regular shows on BBC Radio Manchester, were given important advice by Scott, who was at Radio 1 for 24 years. Dean said: "We're getting stick online by the Radio 1 listeners, Scott is getting stick online from the Radio 2 listeners because it's a big change.
"It's good to know we've got their support. Scott actually, the last time I saw him, he actually said to me 'you are going to get trolled. That is what happens when you put yourself out there in the public eye. That is what's going to happen but please know that whatever you're going through at Radio 1 I'll be going through at Radio 2 and we're all in this together and it will pass' and he is absolutely right."
The northern Irish DJ added: "I think for me, as a big fan of Scott Mills to hear him say that 'I'm getting trolled as well. I will go through whatever you're going through,' in a really weird sort of way makes you feel better."
Vicky agreed: "It does, because you think he's a genius at what he does, you wouldn''t expect him to get the trolling as well. Unfortunately he does but it makes you go 'okay it's not actually about you in that moment."" Dean added: "You can be brand new or been there for 24 years and people are still going to say things online."
The pair both previously presented on LGBTQ+ station Gaydio in Manchester - Dean at breakfast and Vicky in the evenings - and instantly clicked after chatting over Zoom. Vicky said about their first in-person meeting: "I did feel like we did already know each other because of that process, because we'd done Zooms and I'd listened to Dean on air. When it came to meeting in person it was like 'oh so this is the first time we've met.'"
Vicky, from Little Lever, realised she felt 'at home' in front of a microphone as a shy high school pupil and has realised a dream by working for Radio 1 near home in Salford with a production team who are from Greater Manchester. "I'm so happy it's here. I love London. It's wonderful place but I'm a home girl at heart and I always wanted be doing radio from the north if I could.
"What's really nice about us doing it here is we'll bring our life in the north. We will represent people in the north and it's not that we're only going to talk about the north and block out the rest of the country, it's just nice we're able to bring the north in and talk about the lives of people who are living outside the London bubble, which is really important."
She added: "It's also important for the little Deans and the little Vickies of tomorrow to realise that they don't have to uproot their entire life and go to London to achieve their dreams, and there's more and more coming to the rest of the country and people can grow up and do the things that they love in other parts of the country."
Dean said "When they offered me my own show last year, my boss rang me and said the condition on taking on my own show, which was Jordan North's old show, is that it has to come from London. And I said 'look I'm going to be really honest with you here I don't want to move to London. I'm accepting this job, it goes without saying, but can we have conversation about this show coming from MediaCity because I can see it from my bedroom. I want to live a happy life in Manchester where I belong, where I've lived for four years.' I just wanted us to have that conversation and he went 'hold that thought.'"
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