Gaydio presenters Dean McCullough and Emma Goswell. | Photo supplied
Afternoons are changing on British LGBTI radio station Gaydio, as presenters Emma Goswell and Dean McCullough launch a new show dedicated to the day’s hot topics.
Gaydio’s tagline is ‘the beat of gay UK’. But Goswell and McCullough will be mixing the biggest tunes with hot LGBTI topics ‘to get gay UK talking’ in their new drivetime show.
They will look in more depth at the major LGBTI stories, including those from Gay Star News. And they hope to get their listeners involved, giving their views on what’s going on.
The new show, called simply Emma and Dean, launches on Monday (14 May) and will run every Monday to Thursday from 4pm to 8pm.
It comes after Gaydio relaunched its Breakfast show, with new co-hosts Jessie Brooke and Matt Crabb. Alongside the launch of Breakfast with Jessie and Matt, Gaydio will also be expanding its audience later this year by broadcasting in FM from Brighton.
‘Giving our listeners a voice’
Goswell told GSN: ‘In the past, Gaydio’s home time slot (4pm to 8pm) has been music lead. Whereas we feel it’s important to give our listeners a voice. So we will take news stories that may have been breaking during breakfast and discuss them together in more depth during the afternoon.’
McCullough added: ‘It’s an important time to hear from the wider LGBT community. We want to reach out to those who perhaps need that bit of company in the evenings.
‘It’s also super exciting because we’ve more outside broadcasts planned this year than ever before and you are all coming with us!’
While Gaydio is a ‘gay’ radio station, the pair think their male-female presenter mix is an important part of the formula.
Goswell said: ‘I think it’s very important that there’s a woman’s voice on the show.
‘We have always pushed to have more lesbian, more female voices on air. Honestly, we have struggled, it is not easy. It’s a danger in all radio that it becomes male dominated because it’s quite typical for a radio station to have 90% male presenters.
‘But we’ve always wanted there to be women’s voices on Gaydio. We will now have a female presenter on breakfast and drive, so that’s great progress.’
Emma Goswell returns to Gaydio
Goswell co-hosted Gaydio’s breakfast show with Chris Holliday for five years until this January. But when Holliday left the station to join his husband in the US, Goswell took a break to go traveling. During her time off, she wrote this in-depth report about LGBTI life in India for GSN.
McCullough said: ‘Emma has been here for a long time and has a really good relationship with the listeners. So what I bring with newness, Emma backs up with experience. The listeners have really missed having her on Gaydio, so they will really welcome her back.’
Meet Dean McCullough
Dean McCullough is new to Gaydio and is the show’s youngest presenter, aged just 25.
But he is no stranger to flying the flag and entertaining the masses. Previously he has hosted West End Bares for the Make A Difference Trust and Pride in London in Trafalgar Square. He also hosts the Main Arena at Manchester Pride.
McCullough has spent most of his working life on stage in musical theatre. But he is also an advocate for LGBTI rights.
He told us: ‘I’ve spent eight months traveling in Asia. And I feel there is still so much work to be done for LGBTI rights and Gaydio is the place to get that message out there.
‘I’m from Northern Ireland where same-sex marriage is still illegal. So being able to discuss those issues with MPs and the community in Northern Ireland is very important to me.’
Dean and Emma’s new show starts on Monday on Gaydio. | Photo supplied
‘A bit like an arranged marriage’
Goswell and McCullough only met this year. But despite McCullough joking his co-host is old enough to be his mother, they’ve hit it off.
Goswell joked: ‘It is a bit like an arranged marriage. We literally met just before I went traveling. I met him and the first time we met, we just hit it off.
‘I think one reason why is that Dean shares my passion about the important issues for LGBTI people.’
Gaydio is the official radio partner of The British LGBT Awards tonight (11 May). And they will be airing a special show about the awards tomorrow from 4pm. You can listen to Gaydio here.
