# Jo Whiley
**Jo Whiley** (born Johanne Whiley-Morton, 1965, in Northampton, England) is a British radio DJ and television presenter, one of the country's longest-serving music broadcasters, known for her work on [BBC Radio 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-1) from 1993 to 2011 and her weeknight evening show on [BBC Radio 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-2) since then.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924160/bio/) • [2](https://www.musicweek.com/interviews/read/it-feels-like-you-re-part-of-a-very-special-family-jo-whiley-talks-bbc-radio/069914)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Johanne Whiley-Morton, 1965, Northampton, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924160/bio/) |
| BBC Radio debut | Joined BBC Radio 1 in spring 1993 after BBC Radio Sussex, British Satellite Broadcasting and Channel 4[2](https://www.musicweek.com/interviews/read/it-feels-like-you-re-part-of-a-very-special-family-jo-whiley-talks-bbc-radio/069914) |
| Signature program | The Evening Session on Radio 1, co-hosted with Steve Lamacq, a defining showcase of the Britpop era[3](https://www.biography-online.com/biography/45586) |
| Award | DJ of the Year at the Sony Radio Awards, 1998[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/my-secret-life-jo-whiley-47-radio-dj-7782374.html) |
| Current role | Evening show on BBC Radio 2, Monday to Thursday 19:00 to 21:00[5](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/radio/commissioning/Radio_2_Commissioning_Brief_20232_Weekday_Evening_Music_Show.pdf) |
| Family | Married to Steve Morton since July 1991; four children, India, Jude, Cassius, and Coco[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924160/bio/) |
| Podcasts | Dig It with Zoe Ball; Roots for the Royal Horticultural Society[6](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/jo-whiley-exclusive-dig-it-radio2-judi-dench/) |
## Early career
Whiley did not set out to work in radio. She has said that as an undergraduate she did not even know presenting was a job, though she listened to [Annie Nightingale](https://www.edgepedia.org/annie-nightingale)'s Request Show on Sunday nights and admired her style.[2](https://www.musicweek.com/interviews/read/it-feels-like-you-re-part-of-a-very-special-family-jo-whiley-talks-bbc-radio/069914) She studied languages at Brighton Polytechnic, where she began working on a youth program called Turn It Up on the local station Radio Sussex, and in 1988 moved to London to take the radio journalism course at City University, with a placement at Radio 4.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/media/cv-jo-whiley-dj-radio-1-1261110.html)
She then moved into television. On [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4)'s live music show *The Word* she booked the bands, including Nirvana, Hole, and [Rage Against the Machine](https://www.edgepedia.org/rage-against-the-machine), and booked the Riot Grrrl band Huggy Bear, whose on-stage altercation with presenter [Terry Christian](https://www.edgepedia.org/terry-christian) made the front cover of *Melody Maker*. Before that she had worked on the chaotic live show *Club X* and helped set up BSB's music video channel The Power Station.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/media/cv-jo-whiley-dj-radio-1-1261110.html)
## Radio 1 and the Britpop years
Whiley joined BBC Radio 1 in the spring of 1993, approached by Jeff Smith, then the producer of Mark Goodier's Evening Session, while she was still working on *The Word*.[2](https://www.musicweek.com/interviews/read/it-feels-like-you-re-part-of-a-very-special-family-jo-whiley-talks-bbc-radio/069914) After a trial week presenting the Evening Session, she co-presented it with Steve Lamacq; her own 1997 account dates the pairing from 1994, while booking profiles give a 1993 to 2011 span for the program.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/media/cv-jo-whiley-dj-radio-1-1261110.html) • [8](https://www.nmplive.co.uk/jo-whiley) The Evening Session became a home for new guitar bands and less mainstream acts, and ran alongside the rise of Britpop and bands such as Blur and [Oasis](https://www.edgepedia.org/oasis-band).[9](https://www.jla.co.uk/presenters/jo-whiley/) • [8](https://www.nmplive.co.uk/jo-whiley) From 1995 she also hosted her own Saturday afternoon show.[8](https://www.nmplive.co.uk/jo-whiley)
In 1998 she was voted DJ of the Year at the Sony Radio Awards.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/my-secret-life-jo-whiley-47-radio-dj-7782374.html) Her weekday show, *The Jo Whiley Show*, ran for many years and featured the Live Lounge, in which artists performed live sessions and covers. According to a career retrospective, the format grew from a spur-of-the-moment 1999 session in which Travis played covers on the station, and was made a permanent feature named the Live Lounge after popular demand during her tenure.[10](https://www.beyondthetitle.co.uk/portfolio/jo-whiley/) She also presented *Top of the Pops* and, on television and radio, coverage of the [Glastonbury Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/glastonbury-festival), where in the mid-1990s her show was at the center of the Britpop cultural moment.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/media/cv-jo-whiley-dj-radio-1-1261110.html) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/17/frances-made-this-happen-jo-whiley-on-how-her-sister-saved-lives-in-the-pandemic)
## Move to Radio 2
After 18 years on Radio 1, Whiley said an emotional goodbye in 2011 and moved to BBC Radio 2, where she took a weeknight music slot.[10](https://www.beyondthetitle.co.uk/portfolio/jo-whiley/) For a period she co-presented an evening drivetime show with [Simon Mayo](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-mayo), an arrangement that proved contentious, before returning to a solo music-focused evening program in a 2018 schedule refresh.[12](https://connectedhistoriesofthebbc.org/data/sxnew/LornaClarke/interview1/SxLornaClarkeTranscripts1.pdf) • [13](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d2609fbe5274a5862768fd8/BBC_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2018_19.pdf) Her show now runs Monday to Thursday from 19:00 to 21:00, mixing new releases with classic album tracks, with regular features such as the Shiny Happy Playlist and the Sofa Sessions, and an In Concert program featuring live performances.[5](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/radio/commissioning/Radio_2_Commissioning_Brief_20232_Weekday_Evening_Music_Show.pdf) • [14](https://thetalentsociety.co.uk/entertainment-services/radio-dj/jo-whiley/) She remains one of the BBC's lead presenters of live music coverage.[9](https://www.jla.co.uk/presenters/jo-whiley/)
## Advocacy and family
Whiley's sister Frances has cri-du-chat syndrome, a genetic disorder that can cause significant learning disabilities, along with other health issues including diabetes. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Frances caught the virus in her care home in February 2021 and was hospitalized; her family spent roughly 72 hours waiting to learn whether she would survive. Whiley, who had been offered a vaccine before her sister because of a childhood heart condition, spoke publicly about the need to prioritize people with learning disabilities, saying she would have swapped places with Frances if she could.[15](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/jo-whiley-i-thought-my-sister-would-have-to-die-for-anything-to-change-1.4596222) She and Frances also DJ together as the Whiley Sisters, with Frances's floorfiller being Abba's "Dancing Queen".[16](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/01/this-much-i-know-jo-whiley-dj)
She has been married to Steve Morton since July 1991 and has four children: India, Jude, Cassius, and Coco.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924160/bio/) Alongside her radio work she tours the UK with 90s Anthems DJ sets and co-hosts the Dig It podcast with her fellow broadcaster [Zoe Ball](https://www.edgepedia.org/zoe-ball), as well as hosting Roots, a podcast for the [Royal Horticultural Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-horticultural-society).[6](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/jo-whiley-exclusive-dig-it-radio2-judi-dench/)
## References
1. [Jo Whiley biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924160/bio/)
2. ["It feels like you're part of a very special family": Jo Whiley talks BBC Radio, Music Week (2017)](https://www.musicweek.com/interviews/read/it-feels-like-you-re-part-of-a-very-special-family-jo-whiley-talks-bbc-radio/069914)
3. [Johanne Whiley-Morton, Biography Online](https://www.biography-online.com/biography/45586)
4. [My Secret Life: Jo Whiley, 47, radio DJ, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/my-secret-life-jo-whiley-47-radio-dj-7782374.html)
5. [BBC Radio Popular Music Networks commissioning brief, BBC](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/radio/commissioning/Radio_2_Commissioning_Brief_20232_Weekday_Evening_Music_Show.pdf)
6. [Jo Whiley talks getting life back on track, woman&home](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/jo-whiley-exclusive-dig-it-radio2-judi-dench/)
7. [CV: Jo Whiley, DJ, Radio 1, The Independent (1997)](https://www.the-independent.com/news/media/cv-jo-whiley-dj-radio-1-1261110.html)
8. [Book Jo Whiley, NMP Live](https://www.nmplive.co.uk/jo-whiley)
9. [Jo Whiley, JLA Speakers](https://www.jla.co.uk/presenters/jo-whiley/)
10. [Radio Season: Jo Whiley, Beyond The Title](https://www.beyondthetitle.co.uk/portfolio/jo-whiley/)
11. [‘Frances made this happen!’ Jo Whiley on how her sister saved lives in the pandemic | Coronavirus | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/17/frances-made-this-happen-jo-whiley-on-how-her-sister-saved-lives-in-the-pandemic)
12. [Interview with Lorna Clarke, Connected Histories of the BBC](https://connectedhistoriesofthebbc.org/data/sxnew/LornaClarke/interview1/SxLornaClarkeTranscripts1.pdf)
13. [BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2018/19](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d2609fbe5274a5862768fd8/BBC_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2018_19.pdf)
14. [Jo Whiley, The Talent Society](https://thetalentsociety.co.uk/entertainment-services/radio-dj/jo-whiley/)
15. [Jo Whiley: I thought my sister would have to die for anything to change, The Irish Times (2021)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/jo-whiley-i-thought-my-sister-would-have-to-die-for-anything-to-change-1.4596222)
16. [This much I know: Jo Whiley, The Guardian (2009)](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/01/this-much-i-know-jo-whiley-dj)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Broadcasters as people › Podcasters, talk-radio, and talk-show hosts*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license