Radio 2 Jo: Stop having a go at us
DJ hits back after listener revolt
JO WHILEY has defended her Radio 2 drive-time show with Simon Mayo following a listener revolt.
About 20,000 people have signed two petitions saying the new format is a disaster and demanding that BBC bosses revert to the old set-up, which saw Mayo host the slot on his own.
But Jo, 52, yesterday begged Radio 2 fans to keep listening.
She said: “A new show needs to bed in. You have to give a show time… You can’t cast judgment on the first listen.
“It’s been six weeks. The show is going all right. I’m enjoying it.”
Jo added: “Obviously it’s quite nerve-wracking when you begin something. It’s a big deal.
“We haven’t ever done a show together before, so you just have to work out who speaks when and how the other reacts.
“It’s like any relationship, you just have to get into the groove of each other.”
Speaking at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, which she is co-presenting on BBC2 all this week with Joe Swift, she denied claims that she and Mayo have no chemistry.
Jo said: “I’ve known Simon forever. We both worked on Radio 1 and our kids are the same ages, so we used to hang out and go on holiday.”
Mayo, 59, who has hosted the drive-time slot since 2010 and had more than six million listeners before the shake-up, previously said ending his old show had been “difficult and upsetting”, because it involved breaking up his team.
The BBC said they wanted to pair up “two of our much-loved presenters in an exciting partnership” but admitted some listeners are “unhappy with the changes”.