Dave Pearce for Radio 2 Saturday nights

BBC Radio 2 is to air a dance music show on Saturday nights at 10pm from next month, hosted by former Radio 1 DJ Dave Pearce.

Dave Pearce: Dance Years will be a 2-hour show featuring current tracks as well as new mixes and club favourites from the 70s to the present day.

Dave left Radio 1 in 2008 after 13 years with the station, initially taking his Dance Anthems show to 6 Music. Last year, he presented a 13-week dance music series on Thursday nights looking at the evolution of the genre.

Dave says: “I’m delighted to be joining Radio 2 and look forward to sharing my passion for dance music with the Radio 2 audience. The show will be like one big house party with me rummaging through my record crates. There are plenty of memorable tracks from my Radio 1 Dance Anthems days alongside some hidden gems from the 70s and 80s. It’s a chance to relive and share some great memories from the dance floor. This should be a lot of fun!”

The new show, which starts on 14th April, replaces Steve Lamacq in the schedule. Lamacq is moving to Thursday nights 11pm-12 midnight on Radio 2, as well as continuing his daily weekday show on digital station 6 Music.

Jeff Smith, Head of Music at Radio 2 says: “A large portion of the Radio 2 audience have grown up with disco, soul and house music and Dave’s wealth of knowledge and heritage in this genre place him perfectly to provide a new dance show for Radio 2.”