After Your Manchester arrived at a 2.8 million viewer reach, the decision was made and Chatterbox Radio was born. It became “where the city comes to talk”.
The station is the brainchild of everybody’s favourite ginger goddess, Belinda Scandal, and Carol Ann “Zebra” Whitehead.
A couple of months later, in June 2022, the station went to air. It features the station’s creators, familiar voices from the TV show, and new voices from a variety of presenters.
All of the shows at launch contain a mixture of music and talk. Each presenter brings their own format to the station. Allowing creative liberty to those working on the station has resulted in a schedule brimming with personality and distinctive flavours.
The station’s music genre is broadly pop hits from the 70s to the 00s. That said, there is no rigid eligibility and the presenters have been known to go right up to releases on the day of the show. The music brushes against musicals, classical, and jazz. But there are spaces in the schedule for indie, rock, alternative, and quirk.
This station began as an ambitious project, attracted some great talent, and is now looking at a transition to DAB in the near future.
The community is important to Your Manchester Media Group and this is reflected in Chatterbox Radio. Alongside the music and general chat, there are shows involving discussions about the subjects important to Greater Manchester - particularly to its LGBTQIA+ scene - and the promotion of culture and events in the UK’s most vibrant conurbation.