More presenters announced for Times Radio

Radio presenters and journalists including Aasmah Mir, Luke Jones and Cathy Newman have been unveilved as the latest names to join Times Radio.

The new digital radio station was announced earlier this year and had already confirmed that John Pienaar would be joining from the BBC.

Aasmah Mir and Stig Abell will host breakfast from Monday to Thursday. Mir most recently hosted Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 and previously presented BBC Radio 5 live Drive with Peter Allen. Stig Abell is known for editing The Times Literary Supplement and hosting Front Row on BBC Radio 4.

Breakfast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be presented by Luke Jones and Jenny Kleeman. Jones has hosted PM and The World at One on BBC Radio 4 as well as news programmes on the BBC World Service. Kleeman is an investigative journalist and author who has reported for Vice, Panorama and Unreported World.

The Times’ Matt Chorley will step down from writing the paper’s Red Box newsletter and host the mid-morning show. Chorley also hosts the Red Box politics podcast which hosts discussions with Times reporters and columnists as well as interviews with politicians. The podcast will continue with Matt Chorley, who last year toured the UK with a stand-up show.

Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman will host drivetime on Fridays. John Pienaar will present the drive programme from Monday to Thursday.

Aasmah Mir, co-presenter at breakfast, Monday to Thursday, said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Times Radio to co-host the Breakfast Show with Stig. The Times is a byword for quality journalism and this is an enviable opportunity to create compelling radio from scratch. Our listeners will be just like me – I want to be informed but I want warmth too and a programme fit for 2020. I am genuinely excited. This is the programme I have been wanting to wake up to for years.”

The digital news station won’t have commercial breaks, but parts of the schedule may be sponsored.

Tim Levell, Programme Director of Times Radio, said: “When we announced John Pienaar as the host of Drive a few weeks ago, we purposefully set the bar high. With these new signings we’ve maintained an absolute focus on quality broadcasting.”

Times Radio will launch on DAB digital radio this summer. It will also be available online, in apps and on smart speakers. More presenters on the station will be announced soon.