On 4 March 2019 at 10am, Mayo presented the launch of a new classical music digital radio station, Scala Radio, for which he was one of the lead presenters. [26] He presented a daily mid-morning show for two years, until starting work for Greatest Hits Radio; he continued to present his Essential Albums show for Scala on Saturdays until May 2023. [27] Mayo then moved to Sunday mornings. Harvey, Chris (5 March 2021). "Simon Mayo interview: 'We all get told our time is up, but not always with respect and decency' ". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235 . Retrieved 24 August 2022. Mayo is married to Hilary Bird, who had worked at Radio Nottingham since 1984 on Action Line, and also worked for BBC Radio 2 as a producer for Canon Roger Royle and later Don Maclean on Good Morning Sunday from 1987 to 1990. [40] The wedding took place on Saturday 11 October 1986 at St Helen's Church in Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire. They have two sons and a daughter. Mayo is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur, [41] and lives in London.

He says: “It was the biggest show in the country and what you played and didn’t play made a huge difference. It was an extraordinary privilege, it’s not really a proper job.” Simon, who initially moved to Scala Radio, now hosts his Drivetime show on Greatest Hits Radio, and says if Radio 2 is happy to lose older listeners, Greatest Hits is happy “because we are waiting to gather them with open arms and say, ‘You know that music you like that you hardly get any more? Well, come to us because you’ll get it all the time”.

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The character development wasn't as strong and could have done with more dept, but then again this story is mostly focused on the plot and action with the strange new disease. I personally didn't mind too much, because the characters had enough going for them to be able to connect to them anyway. Is everything they do completely credible? Maybe not. But it sure made for a very exhilarating ride, and it's definitely made me want to try more of this author. The appeal for me was that it was mainly based on UK home soil, with only a few brief communications with Lilly's foreign counterparts. The emphasis on the Salisbury Russian poisoning episode being woven into the narrative was classic Deighton, Fleming et al. Big organisations often get this kind of thing wrong, my guess is what happened in 2018 was handled badly and hopefully we have all moved on and worked out how to adjust, and just hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

He started his first breakfast show by playing " Somewhere in My Heart" by Aztec Camera, which was preceded by a montage of previous breakfast show hosts and then Mayo himself saying 'It's me, Simon Mayo, good morning.' Jardine, Cassandra (23 May 2008). "Award-winning Simon Mayo – smooth, with a gentle bite". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013 . Retrieved 18 April 2011. Plunkett, John (15 September 2009). "Simon Mayo confirmed as Chris Evans's successor on BBC Radio 2". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014 . Retrieved 15 September 2009. In addition to his daily programme on BBC Radio 5 Live, from October 2001 to April 2007, Mayo hosted the Album Chart show each week for BBC Radio 2. Alongside this, on 2 January 2006, he presented The Ultimate Music Year for the station, where listeners got the chance to vote for their favourite year for music. He has also presented many Sold on Song projects, presented the Top 100 Albums and provided holiday cover for Johnnie Walker on Sundays. From April 2007 to April 2008 Mayo took over the Radio 2 Music Club every Monday night from 11:30 pm to 12:30 am.Wright, 68, admitted the station wanted to “do something different in the afternoons”, adding, amiably: “Let’s give somebody else a go.” I read ‘Knife Edge’ by Simon Mayo last year and thoroughly enjoyed it so I was very much looking forward to reading his latest novel. The radio presenter come author writes well and along with intruging storylines and interesting characters the novels make entertaining reading. Turning collective terror into handy plotlines is something else that thriller writers tend to excel at. This second, solitary career suits him very well. He liked the quiet time in the pandemic, although also loved having his three grown-up children at home with himself and his wife Hilary Bird, a former Radio 2 producer.

He was the announcer for the concert celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee on 4 June 2012. Inspiration does, indeed, come from the most surprising places. Simon is a regular visitor to Suffolk and the names on a noticeboard at Blythburgh Church famously gave him the characters for his Itch trilogy of books about a teenage scientist who collects elements from the periodic table. In 2008, Mayo was recognised as the "Radio Broadcaster of the Year" at the 34th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, [2] and the "Speech Broadcaster of the Year" at the Sony Radio Academy Awards, receiving the latter for his "ability to paint colourful pictures of location and event and his ability to bring the very best out of his guests, encouraging conversation and interaction between them while skilfully nudging and controlling them" and for being "a master of light and shade, handling serious and lighter issues with aplomb." [3] The son of teachers, he cut his teeth on hospital radio and BBC Radio Nottingham, his ambition always to climb to the top at Radio 1. The breakfast show, landed in 1988, was a dream.

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Jo Whiley& Simon Mayo – Monday – Thursday 5 pm–8 pm; Friday 5 pm–7 pm, 14 May 2018– 21 December 2018 Itch is currently being turned into an opera, commissioned by Opera Holland Park and written by composer Jonathan Dove and librettist Alasdair Middleton. It will premiere this year. It's not a typical route for a children’s novel, but the drama, adventure and subject matter has a great appeal and Itch has also been made into a TV series. So does Simon picture his books for the screen, or stage, as he writes? His chosen genre is one that sells reliably well but that doesn’t always get the respect it might deserve from critics. As a critic himself, does this bother him? Act Your Age, Series 1". BBC Radio 4 Extra. 2015. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016 . Retrieved 18 September 2015. The station’s controllers decided he needed a co-host for his show, and paired him with Jo Whiley. Things did not gel, and they failed to connect with listeners. The fallout was as swift as it was brutal: after six months, Whiley stayed and Mayo walked.