Former presenter at Signal 2, Sam Plank has joined Staffordshire RSL station Moorlands Radio.
Sam has joined the team on a voluntary basis with his wife and producer Verity Hilton following their recent, much publicised departure from the UTV-owned station.
The local press has been running a campaign to get Sam back on the air with lots of letters sent from listeners and a county-wide outcry for his return. The Sentinel newspaper has been publishing these letters nightly for the last 2 weeks.
Moorlands Radio Programme Controller Mervyn Gamage said:
“I worked with Sam and Verity a number of years ago at the BBC and it’s great to have them as part of the Moorlands Radio team. Sam is a fantastic broadcaster who spent many years at BBC Radio Stoke as one of their most popular presenters and has been on air in recent years at Signal 2. Sam is really committed to community broadcasting and has offered to give up his time voluntarily to join the station. We have seen the campaign to get Sam back on the air — and are so pleased that listeners will have chance to hear him again.”
The station will be officially launched by Sam and Verity at 9:00am this Saturday 18th November — he will then present a regular Saturday morning programme from 9:00am — 11:00am every Saturday for the trial broadcast. The programme will include guests, a phone-in and music all presented in Sam’s usual style.
Sam, commenting on the move said:
“Moorlands Radio has the ethos that all local radio stations should have, and I relish being part of it. With the local community on board we can make Saturday mornings great fun.”
It is hoped that the trial could lead to a more permanent community radio station in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Station Manager Tony Mullins said:
“We have been working on the Moorlands Radio project for 3 years now and this will be our third month-long broadcast. We decided to bring the station back for a further RSL due to the letters and e-mails from listeners saying how much they missed the station. Having Sam and Verity on board is the icing on the cake. People love their show and Sam’s style of broadcasting will fit the station perfectly.”
When the station takes to air on Saturday listeners can expect local news, features, guests, phone-ins, requests, local music, access to local leaders, experts in the studio along with specialist music shows, a local chart and outside broadcasts from around the area.
Sam will be appearing on stage as part of Moorlands Radio’s launch day. At 8:00am he will be on the Market Place in Leek at and in the town centre of Biddulph at lunchtime after his first show on the station.
Sam will be officially launching the station with his first show this Saturday at 9:00am on 87.7fm.