2005 in British radio

Events

January

• 17 January – 268 radio stations, including national stations Classic FM and Virgin Radio, join together to broadcast UK Radio Aid, a twelve-hour event to raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

February

• No events

March

• No events

April

• No events

May

• 23 May – As BBC staff stage a one-day strike over announced job cuts, Terry Wogan crosses the picket line to present his show.

June

• 5–10 June – BBC Radio 3 clears its airwaves for almost an entire week to broadcast the music of a single composer – Ludwig van Beethoven. This is followed up at the end of the year with ten days of non-stop Johann Sebastian Bach which is broadcast in the run-up to Christmas.
• 21 June – Emap buys Scottish Radio Holdings.

July

• 7 July – 7 July 2005 London bombings: Four terrorist suicide bombings strike London's public transport system during the morning rush hour, receiving extensive media coverage. The BBC sticks with initial reports of a power surge on the London Underground until actual events can be corroborated.
• 25 July – London's 102.2 Smooth FM signs a three-year deal with Chelsea F.C. to provide exclusive match coverage of the club's games until the end of the 2007–08 season.

August

• No events

September

• 8–12 September – BBC Radio 5 Live devotes its daytime schedule to broadcast extensive live coverage of the deciding Ashes cricket match.

October

• c. 18 October – Pirate radio stations broadcasting to the Handsworth and Lozells districts of Birmingham, most notably Hot 92, discuss an alleged rape, a contributory factor in the 2005 Birmingham riots.
• 31 October – Actress Mary Wimbush dies, aged 81, at The Mailbox studios of BBC Birmingham shortly after completing work on a recording session for The Archers.

November

• 25 November – The UK's first Islamic radio station, Islam Radio, is established in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

December

• No events

Station debuts

• 21 February – Chill
• 7 June – 102.2 Smooth Radio
• 3 October – KMFM Ashford
• 1 November – Aston FM
• 25 November – Islam Radio
• 5 December – 102.6 & 106.8 Durham FM

Programme debuts

• 7 January – Ed Reardon's Week on BBC Radio 4
• 4 August – The Ape That Got Lucky on BBC Radio 4
• 15 September – Another Case of Milton Jones on BBC Radio 4
• 3 October – The Dream Ticket with Nemone on BBC 6 Music

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

• ''A Book at Bedtime''

1950s

• ''Your Hundred Best Tunes''

1960s

• ''The Organist Entertains''

1970s

• ''Science in Action''

1980s

• ''Loose Ends''

1990s

• ''Jonathan Ross''

2000s

• ''Elaine Paige on Sunday''

Ending this year

• 18 May – Puzzle Panel
• 29 September – Jane Gazzo's Dream Ticket
• October – Westway
• 18 October – Think the Unthinkable
• 9 November – ''Whispers''

Deaths

• 2 January – Cyril Fletcher, 91, comic monologuist
• 6 March – Tommy Vance, 63, disc jockey
• 19 March – John Ebdon, 81, radio broadcaster, Graecophile, author and director of the London Planetarium
• 7 November – Harry Thompson, 45, comedy producer, lung cancer
• 19 November – John Timpson, 77, news presenter
• 20 November – Jonathan James-Moore, 59, former BBC Radio head of light entertainment, cancer
• 21 December – Hallam Tennyson, 85, radio producer, suspected murder