Take a look at the building in front of you-quite modern, isn’t it? But don’t let its newness fool you; it’s at the heart of a story that’s been anything but quiet! Welcome to BBC Radio Somerset, Somerset’s very own “voice in the ether.” If you listen closely, you might even catch the distant echo of a 1970s radio jingle floating through the air...
Let’s rewind to 1978: a mighty storm battered Somerset, knocking out power, cutting off roads, and creating chaos worthy of a disaster movie-minus The Rock dramatically rescuing anyone. The BBC quickly set up the county’s first radio service, like emergency superheroes in cardigans, to broadcast crucial updates and keep spirits up. But the real BBC Somerset would wait another decade before truly switching on the microphones.
Fast forward to April 11, 1988. On that day, BBC Somerset Sound officially crackled onto the airwaves, broadcasting on 1323 medium wave, previously used by BBC Radio Bristol. Picture this: the first studio, squeezed snugly above a cozy café on Paul Street, Taunton. If you tuned in, you might’ve caught the aroma of fresh pastries along with your morning news! The team was tiny-Clinton Rogers at the helm, Anne Ashworth bringing you the news, and a Yeovil “outpost” run by Steve Haigh, all piecing the programme together. But Somerset’s airwaves had a secret guest star-the odd, ghostly interference of a Russian radio station. Listeners would sometimes pick up scrambled voices and strange music overlaying local cricket results!
Now, it wasn’t all confusion and static. By 2002, the station moved to Park Street on a stronger frequency, 1566 MW, so Somerset’s stories could finally outshout Siberian weather reports. The tech evolved, but so did the name and the station’s reach. In 2007, “Somerset Sound” became just “BBC Somerset.” They even launched an actual BBC Somerset bus (sorry, there was no news helicopter-just imagine the jingling, clanging school bus with microphones inside).
With the new frequency, 95.5 FM, and a growing army of frequencies and transmitters-from the Mendip Hills to Hutton-the signal has traveled impressively far. There are tales of listeners picking up Somerset’s airwaves as far away as Finland. Yes, someone in Helsinki has sat shivering beside a lake, listening to Taunton weather. Worldwide fame!
These days, you’ll hear BBC Radio Somerset on DAB, FM, AM, Freeview TV, and online via BBC Sounds. From 6 a.m. till 2 p.m. on weekdays, everything you hear is hand-brewed by local journalists here in Taunton-after that, the programming is shared with Bristol and the wider West. In the evenings, the voices you hear might be coming from anywhere in England, bringing the entire country a bedtime story-well, plus travel news and football.
Now, let’s step behind the scenes for a dash of eco-drama. In 2007, the station led the challenge to become the first carbon-zero radio station in the UK. Every teabag? Counted. Every lightbulb? Checked. Every reporter’s mileage? Tallied. Turns out, they generated more than 64 tonnes of CO2 per year-which, even for people who talk for a living, is an awful lot of hot air. So, the team literally paid out of their own pockets to plant trees, support green projects, and invest in carbon trading. Out went the old cars, in came fuel-efficient vans. They swapped glowing bulbs for super-savers, covered the lofts, added double glazing, and even banished the trusty water cooler for humble tap water. If the planet could send thank-you notes, the BBC would have a full postbag.
The station’s journey also features a real game of musical studios: it left Park Street in 2017 for this sparkling new building here in Blackbrook, all ready for a digital future. Today, under editor Dean Poolman and news editor Andrew Enever, the airwaves are alive with local news, cricket, music, interviews, and the drama of everyday Somerset life.
Somerset radio isn’t just about facts and frequencies-it’s a tapestry of voices, resilience, weather emergencies, some uninvited Russian ambiance, and a cheeky eco-challenge. So next time you’re tuning in, remember: you might just be part of a story reaching all the way from the hills of Mendip to the lakes of Finland...or at least to your kitchen.
Interested in knowing more about the programming, technical or the the challenge
