Beryl and Betty become oldest winners of Sony radio prize
Baku, May 16 (AZERTAC). Two elderly ladies giggling about chicken dinners, pop music and a worrying obsession with Michael Bublé might not sound like your standard radio show. Their riotous show has just won one of the most prestigious awards in radio. But, as may be apparent from their names, Beryl and Betty are not the latest young turks of the airwaves. They are - at 86 and 90 respectively - probably the oldest women on radio.
Nevertheless, they have seen off established stars and much younger rivals to win the award for best entertainment programme at the Sony Radio Academy Awards, the Oscars of the UK industry.
The pair banter with co-host David Reeves about matters such as fashion and sex, cackle to seaside postcard humour, and play easy-listening music.
Mr Reeves, who also produces the show, met the two pensioners during a guided tour of the BBC Hull building in 2006.
They now join him every week to offer their ‘knowledge of local history, new music and taste in younger men’.
The Sony radio award judges said: ‘A joyous, entertaining double act, having fun with the medium and unconstrained by any ingrained ideas of what works and what doesn’t.
‘They give a voice to a sector of society unrepresented on radio, and do it with a joy that puts many of their fellow broadcasters to shame.’
The double act, which has been on air for six years, picked up their award watched by some of the industry’s biggest names, including Radio 2 star Chris Evans.
The ceremony also featured performances from Jessie J and Gary Barlow.
Previous winners of the same award have included Evans, Russell Brand and Chris Moyles.
However, the ladies’ show only pulls in between 10,000 and 20,000 regular listeners each week, directly after their station’s football coverage ends.
Last night Beryl Renwick, 86, said: ‘It’s never been known to have older people like us getting their big break in broadcasting. It’s quite a thing at our age.
‘It all started six years ago. We used to run a Saturday night club for ladies, and we asked the BBC to take us round the studios.
'David heard us talking and interviewed us for a job on his show, and it all went on from there.’
Asked for the secret of the show’s success, Betty Smith, 90, said: ‘We never stop talking.
‘And because we have lived full lives, people want to hear what we have to say. We are full of good advice.’
Mrs Renwick added: ‘We are never scared to give a straight answer. If a caller has a dilemma, we do our best to help. And we don’t get embarrassed, no matter what the subject matter is.’
Mr Reeves has said: ‘I was interested in older people’s views. Nothing heavy, just their stories, their thoughts on the week.’
He said he had visited old people’s homes to find the right people but had drawn a blank.
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