Egton Wing renamed after John Peel

The Egton Wing of New Broadcasting House is to be renamed after the late BBC Radio 1 presenter John Peel.

Peel Wing will be on the site of Egton House, the former home of Radio 1, from where John broadcast throughout his career.

In an email to staff this morning, Director General Mark Thompson said: “John was one of the BBC’s great radio talents, broadcasting regularly on Radio 1 from its launch in 1967. With a reputation for being in the vanguard, he was widely recognised as a champion of new music, supporting punk, reggae and hip-hop before they went mainstream.

“Well known to our global audiences through his work on the World Service, he later won over a whole new legion of fans with Home Truths on Radio 4. John’s death in 2004 was sudden and shocking, especially for those of us who had grown up with him. However, his legacy lives on today not just in the UK, but around the world. He was a great ambassador for the BBC, and as we move into the BBC’s iconic new home at Broadcasting House, the Peel Wing will be a fitting tribute to a man who personified so much of what the BBC stands for – quality, creativity and innovation.”

Radio 1 staff and studios will move from Yalding House to New Broadcasting House in the Autumn. The wing will serve as the main entrance to the station – which will be housed on the 8th floor at the top of a large new extension to Broadcasting House.

The wing, on the eastern side of the new development, currently houses the BBC’s Arabic and Persian television services and BBC London. It was completed in 2005 and officially opened by HRH The Queen in April 2006.

John Peel was born John Ravenscroft in Heswall, near Liverpool in 1939. He broadcast regularly on Radio 1 from its launch in 1967 until his death in 2004.

He began working for a radio station in Dallas in the 1960s, followed by a spell on pirate station Radio London, before the move to Radio 1. He could also be heard on the BBC’s World Service, Radio 4’s Home Truths and Top Of The Pops.