Current Affairs, Radio: Sony Gold Award for Studio editor with family name Grey

Tuesday 10 May 2011: At last night's Sony Radio Awards ceremony in London, a coveted top Gold Award was won by the Radio 5 Live daily "Drive" programme team headed by presenters Peter Allen and Aasmah Mir, chief political correspondent John Pienaar, and studio editor Lucy Grey. They stole the honours in the Best Breaking News Coverage category for the programme retrospectively named Birth of the Coalition.

"Drive" which usually goes out daily from 4pm to 7pm on BBC Five Live was extended to run for five consecutive hours until 9pm on the dramatic day Gordon Brown suddenly decided without warning to tender his resignation in a meeting with the Queen at Buckingham Palace following several days of uncertainty and behind-the-scenes wrangling among the three main political parties after the inconclusive General Election. This triggered a tumult of events which Drive covered with consistent brilliance as they happened, often reporting and backgrounding crucial developments, as the head of BBC Five Live later noted, well in advance of the running television news. The outcome was today's Conservative Liberal democrat coalition government.


What the Judges said of Drive that day : A perfect example of this programme at the top of its game, telling a fast-moving story with style verve, insight and humour. The presenters excelled at reacting to events and were superb guides for the listener as they explained the complexities of the story in an informed and entertaining way.


Why should all this be mentioned here at this juncture on my personal blog ? Could it have anything to do with the fact that the family name of the studio editor of the day was Grey (Lucy) who also sometimes reads the Five Live news and occasionally presents the daily dawn current affairs programme Morning Report? And that I have two lovely daughters one of whose names is Lucy? It is quite possible.

Anthony Grey, former presenter of BBC World Service programme Twenty Four Hours.