Boris Johnson congratulates Radio Exe

Prime minister writes on station's 10th birthday

The prime minister has congratulated Devon commercial station Radio Exe on its tenth anniversary.

The station went on air on 10th January 2012 after its predecessor, Exeter FM, was acquired from a London company six months earlier.

In an anniversary message to the station, Boris Johnson said: “I wanted to write and offer my congratulations on this great milestone!

“Radio has been a key source of news and entertainment to so many people during the course of the covid-19 pandemic and I understand your service has been exceptional.

“I recall being interviewed by two members of your team. Sam Sterrett and Adam Manning in 2019, and spoke with them about my family’s long association with the area.

“Radio Exe has come so far in the past 10 years and the commitment to your listeners and to Devon is undoubted. Once again, my congratulations on your tenth anniversary.”

To celebrate the day, Radio Exe is looking for ten youngsters who will celebrate their tenth birthday this year and will invite them and ten friends to enjoy an exclusive Radio Exe party at Crealy Theme Park and Resort near Exeter, sponsors of the station’s breakfast show.

Radio Exe's Sam Sterrett interviewed the prime minister ahead of the 2019 election

Writing in the Exmouth Journal, former broadcaster and now East Devon MP Simon Jupp, who returned to Radio Exe to do a small number of programmes at the start of the pandemic said: "For the last 10 years, Radio Exe has been the station of choice for many people in East Devon. The station launched on 10th January 2012 and I’d like to wish them a very happy 10th birthday.

The station is now one of the few independent commercial radio stations left in the UK as many are now owned by large commercial groups that operate dozens of stations under the same name across the country, with little or no local content.

"Radio Exe bucks that trend and has been rightly recognised by the Prime Minister with a note congratulating them on their birthday."

Simon Jupp MP is a former presenter and journalist (courtesy: Simon Jupp)

Managing director Paul Nero said: “We’re proud of our team, past and present, who have built Radio Exe into a successful station for Devon.

“Our strategy has been to create a strong local brand on-air and online, deliver a meaningful audience to advertisers so their campaigns work, and to celebrate all that’s good about Devon.

“We aspire to help young talent kickstart their careers – one is now a producer of the BBC’s biggest breakfast shows, another is a newsreader on the World Service – as well as being a place where great broadcaster talent, on-air and off-air, can flourish.

“That the prime minister has taken the trouble to write on our birthday means a lot to the team and we’d like to thank him, as well as our listeners, partners and clients for their support.

“Last year was busy. We launched a new breakfast show with Matt Rogers, who was previously with one of the national brands, and we took over the BBC’s local democracy reporting contract for Devon from a national publishing company, Reach plc.

“This year will be even busier. Along with partners in the community radio sector, Phonic in Exeter and Riveria FM in Torquay, we will launch a new digital radio network for Exeter and extend the Radio Exe brand too.”

BBC Radio 2 breakfast show producer James Santer sent his congratulations to the station too, saying he's sure Radio Exe's young broadcasters Jamie Taylor and Brad Hardware will be names to look out for in the future. Watch his message below.