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Pick of the Pops is a staple of the BBC Radio 2 airwaves but has had a turbulent time over the past year with an ever-changing line-up of presenters.
Now former host Mark Goodier has returned to steady the ship and present the show which counts down two archive charts each Saturday afternoon.
Goodier, 62, hosted the show briefly from February to July 2016 following the departure of Tony Blackburn. He returns this July to take over once again, following the death of DJ Steve Wright in February this year.
Wright had only taken on the iconic show last October after Paul Gambaccini had stepped down after seven years.
Radio veteran Gary Davies has been holding the fort since February, presenting the chart rundown show until Goodier begins his tenure this summer.
Who is Mark Goodier?
Born in Zimbabwe in 1961, Goodier’s family moved to Wales shortly afterwards and eventually settled in Edinburgh, Scotland when he was eight.
He started his career as a mobile DJ in Edinburgh in the late 1970s before joining a local free radio station (Telstar), then Radio Forth and later Radio Tay, where he became the breakfast show host at the age of 19. He would go on to work for Radio Clyde in Glasgow and Metro Radio in the North East of England before he eventually joined BBC Radio 1 in 1987.
His stint at Radio 1 began presenting a two-hour Saturday night show before taking on the Weekend Breakfast Show with Liz Kershaw and Sybil Ruscoe. He then hosted the Evening Session from 1990-93. At the same time, he presented the UK Top 40 chart rundown on Sunday evenings and was a regular presenter on the television show Top of the Pops.
He briefly presented the weekday breakfast show on Radio 1 for a few months in 1993 before returning ultimately to his drivetime slot. In 1997, he took on the morning shows on the station on Saturday and Sunday while he established his production company, WiseBuddah, but finally left Radio 1 in 2002.
After leaving Radio 1, he worked for a number of commercial radio stations including Smooth Radio, where he had a mid-morning show from 2007-12.
He also became a regular stand-in host for BBC radio 2 presenters when they were on leave. And his work as a voiceover artist for television adverts saw him become “the voice” of the Now That’s What I Call Music album series from 1992.
In 2016, he presented Pick of the Pops for the first time covering after Tony Blackburn left the show and before Paul Gambaccini started.
In the November the same year, he suffered a stroke at the age of 55. The father of three has credited his wife, Jacqueline, and daughter with saving his life, as they spotted the signs early enough to raise the alarm.
Eight years after his first spell on Pick of the Pops, he will return this summer on a more permanent basis.
What has he said about presenting Pick of the Pops?
Following the announcement by the BBC that Goodier would be the new host of the show, the DJ said: “It’s an honour to host the iconic Pick of the Pops, although I wish it were in happier circumstances as I was friends with Steve for almost 40 years.
“I can’t wait to reminisce with Radio 2 listeners as we revisit two years in their lives, playing some of the best records ever made.”
Helen Thomas, who is head of Radio 2, described Goodier as a “brilliant broadcaster with a particular passion for chart countdowns”, adding: “I’m delighted he’s making a welcome return to Radio 2 in the prestigious Pick of the Pops slot, to complete our new weekend presenting line-up following the loss of our friend and colleague, Steve.”
She also thanked Gary Davies “for presenting Pick of the Pops across these past weeks, in addition to hosting the weekly, must-listen edition of his Sounds of the 80s show each Saturday night”.
Goodier will begin hosting Pick of the Pops in July.
