BBC Radio 1 will welcome a raft of new presenters between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day 2022, giving new and emerging presenting talent a once in a lifetime opportunity to broadcast on the UK’s biggest youth radio station.

Radio 1’s Christmas Takeover launched in 2019 as an initiative created by Head of BBC Radio 1, Aled Haydn Jones. It provides a valuable springboard for emerging presenters working to carve out careers in national radio, with many of the guests presenters going on to achieve major successes across the industry. To date, eight of the former guest presenters have landed permanent slots on Radio 1, most recently with Dean McCullough and Vicky Hawkesworth – from the 2020 search – being announced as the new presenters of the iconic afternoon 1pm – 3.30pm show.

Applications for this year are open now via the Radio 1 website and close at midnight on Thursday 22 September. Radio 1 want to hear from DJs and presenters with previous radio experience, be it in community, hospital, student or local radio.

As in previous years, budding presenters can apply by uploading a demo for review. In 2021, Radio 1 created a brand-new uploader, with in-built infrastructure which allows the uploader to remain in place after the application window for the Christmas Takeover closes. It also creates additional routes into Radio 1 for emerging talent: presenters will be able to submit their work year round for Radio 1 teams to hear, with presenting opportunities on the station for the very best new voices from across the UK. The new uploader also makes it possible for demos to be submitted for review by other BBC radio stations in the future.

Radio 1 has long been dedicated to supporting the best emerging talent from across the UK, with initiatives like Radio 1’s Residency and Radio 1’s Brit List dedicated to bringing emerging presenters, DJs and artists into the spotlight. Applicants for Radio 1’s Christmas Takeover have the chance to follow in the footsteps of the station’s current roster of DJs including Greg James who started out presenting on student radio before joining Radio 1, and Clara Amfo, who started her career as an intern in radio.

Dean McCullough says: “The Radio 1 Christmas Takeover has genuinely changed my life. When I sent in my demo in October 2020 I didn’t think for one second I’d get a call back never mind my own weekend show 6 months later. Make sure your demo sells ‘you’, don’t try to sound like someone on the station and make sure your best content is at the beginning. Leave all the station jargon out, get straight into the action. Make the content is relatable and have so much fun they have to bring you in for a pilot. Most of all, even if you aren’t 100% happy with it, send the demo in and believe with every inch of your heart that you’re the right person for the gig!”.

Vicky Hawkesworth says: “Hands down sending in a demo for The Christmas takeover 2020 was the best thing I ever did. I went from recording links in the box room in Bolton, to presenting a daytime show on Radio 1 with Dean McCullough. It has changed my life and I have met and worked with so many incredible and talented people over the last two years. It all started with that one demo so SEND ONE IN NOW!”

Aled Haydn Jones, Head of Radio 1, says: “Since its launch in 2019, Radio 1’s Christmas Takeover has provided a platform for some of the UK’s most exciting, undiscovered radio presenters and has enabled huge successes both within Radio 1 and elsewhere in national radio, which is testament to the importance and power of this initiative. We’re proud to have discovered some incredible talent within the past three years and look forward to seeing what this next round brings.”