Richard Allinson

Richard John McNeill Allinson was born on 12 October 1958 in Lichfield, Staffordshire. He started his broadcasting with a 3 year stint at Bailrigg FM, whilst undertaking college courses at Fylde College, Lancaster University. He was firstly Treasurer and then became President of Bailrigg. After developing a passion for radio early on, Allinson chose a career in the industry and can now be heard on the BBC Radio network, most often on BBC Radio 2, and on BFBS (British Forces) radio.

Early career

Allinson rejected a career in the legal profession and in August 1980, took up broadcasting on London's Capital Radio, presenting their Chart Show. Following on from Capital's Chart Show, in 1984 he took over the late-night 10pm-midnight slot. In 1987 he took over the Weekday 2-4.30pm slot, followed by the weekday Early Breakfast show in 1990. In addition to this, in around 1994 he worked alongside Julia Carling on the satellite music television channel VH1, where they hosted a live show together.

Radio 2

Allinson joined BBC Radio 2 in 1997, presenting the Monday - Thursday late night show from 10.30pm-Midnight, which included a mix of music and guests.

In early 1999, Allinson briefly took over the weekday drivetime show from 5-7pm whilst regular presenter Johnnie Walker (DJ) was off air due to personal problems, with various guest presenters taking over the late show, but in mid 1999, Richard returned to the late night show.

In addition to his late night show, in 2000, Allinson also took over a Saturday afternoon show from 3.30-6.30pm, where he introduced the 'Radio Wall Of Sound' This was where listeners could ring in, listen to a selection of snippets of tunes until they liked one particularly, for it to play as quickly as they'd shouted 'play' or made some other noise dictated by the host after the caller had been probed about their life. They were rewarded with a CD album of their choice.

Allinson stepped down from the late night slot in June 2004, so he could concentrate on fronting Radio 2's 'Live & Exclusive' series & 'Sold on Song' projects. Alongside this, he still continued with his Saturday afternoon show, which was cut down to 2 hours in September 2004 & went out from 4-6pm every Saturday.

It was also during this period that he became the main stand-in for many weekday presenters when taking their holidays, such as Terry Wogan, Ken Bruce, Sarah Kennedy and Steve Wright.

His Saturday show eventually ended in September 2005, but he still continues to stand in for weekday presenters on Radio 2 as well as present documentaries and specialist shows for the network, such as "The Record Producers", which is usually broadcast from 7-8pm on Bank Holiday Mondays.

BBC Local Radio

From 8 January 2006 until 24 February 2007, Allinson presented a regular weekly show on BBC Radio Oxford on Sunday mornings from 9am-12noon. The show included a mix of music, guests, competitions and a look at headlines from the Sunday Papers. Since January 2007, he has presented a 2 hour show called "Allinson's Albums", which goes out live from 12-2pm every Saturday on BBC Radio Oxford, and from 4 March 2007 is repeated on Sundays from 5-7pm. The show is now also broadcast on BBC Radio York also on Saturday Lunchtimes from 1-3pm.

Other Work

Allinson has been heard on the various BFBS (British Forces) radio networks since 1980, first on Most Wanted for BFBS Radio 1, where he played mostly new music with a cutting edge, later moving to BFBS UK and others, and moved to BFBS Radio 2 in 2003 presenting in a style which the public have grown accustomed to with his shows on BBC Radio 2. From October 2006 he took over a daily show for the network, going out Mondays-Fridays from 9-11am UK time, which he presented until March 2008. Richard has also been known to present shows on the BBC World Service.

Current Work

These days, Allinson can still be heard on BBC Radio 2, mainly covering for various holidaying presenters such as Sarah Kennedy, Ken Bruce, Steve Wright and Chris Evans. He also presents an occasional series called "The Record Producers", which goes out from 7-8pm on Bank Holiday Mondays. His show "Allinson's Albums" can be heard on BBC Radio Oxford on Saturdays from 12-2pm and is then repeated on Sundays from 5-7pm. The same show is also broadcast on BBC Radio York on Saturdays from 1-3pm and is repeated on Wednesday evenings from 7-8pm. It will also be broadcast on BBC Radio Cumbria on Sunday afternoons from 1 June 2008. He left BFBS in March 2008. On Sunday August 24 2008 Allinson hosted London 2012 Party Live on BBC Radio 2 from The Mall outside Buckingham Palace in London which included the 2008 Beijing Olympics handover musical celebrations.

Radio Credits

* Capital Radio "Chart Show" Sundays 1980 - 1984
* Capital Radio "Late Show" Weekdays 10pm-Midnight 1984 - 1987
* Capital Radio "Afternoon Show" Weekdays 2-4.30pm 1987 - 1990
* Capital Radio "Early Breakfast Show" Weekdays 5-7am 1990 - 1997
* BBC Radio 2 "Late Nights" Mondays - Thursdays 10.30pm - Midnight. March 1997 - June 2004
* BBC Radio 2 "Saturday Afternoons 3.30-6.30pm April 2000-September 2004 4-6pm September 2004 - September 2005.
* BBC Radio 2 "Record Producers" (alongside Steve Levine) Bank Holiday Mondays 7-8pm 2006 - Present
* BBC Radio 2 " Record Producers " ( alongside Steve Levine ) New Years Day 6-7pm 2007
* BBC Radio Oxford "Sunday Mornings" 9am-12midday January 2006 - February 2007
* BBC Radio Oxford "Allinson's Albums" Saturdays 12-2pm January 2007 - Present
* BBC Radio York "Allinsons Albums" Saturdays 1-3pm May 2007 - Present
* BBC Radio Cumbria "Allinsons Albums" Sundays From June 2008