Greg James has been a hit with listeners and critics on Radio 1’s new Breakfast Show, which launched last month. But as yet there’s no word on a third series for his BBC One primetime music show Sounds Like Friday Night made by Carpool Karaoke producer Fulwell 73.
BBC Music’s head of TV commissioning, Jan Younghusband, recently told Music Week she was “really proud” of the show. Now James has revealed that he would like to continue to combine the TV series with his Radio 1 commitments.
“That’s the hope, we’re not quite sure when that’s coming back but I imagine it will do at some point,” he told Music Week. “It would be a real shame for it not to [come back].”
SLFN finished its second series on 1.8m viewers with a show featuring Kylie Minogue, Florence + The Machine and David Guetta. It was slightly down on the 2m audience for the first series last year.
Radio 1’s recent changes to scheduling with a three-day weekend means James would have a free Friday to focus on SLFN. The show’s co-host Dotty presents her own Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 1Xtra five days a week.
Giving Royal Blood the opportunity to record the theme tune to a BBC One music show is extraordinary
Greg James
James, who has a track record of securing big-name guests on air, said there’s a synergy between Radio 1 and SLFN.
“It really plays to Radio 1’s strengths in that we’ve had a lot of connections with those record labels and the pluggers to get hold of those artists and go, ‘Look this is a really big thing that the BBC are going for, you’re coming to do a [Radio 1] Live Lounge with us and we’d love it if you went and helped out on the BBC One show and vice versa when we get those guests onto Radio 1.’”
Aled Haydn Jones, head of programmes at Radio 1, said the network was “lucky” to have a broadcaster who was popular on both radio and TV.
“It is good that he will be able to do shows like Sounds Like Friday Night,” he added. “It’s also great that our weekday audiences get to hear what our weekend schedule sounds like.”
Whether or not SLFN does return, James said he was proud of the show’s track record.
“Bands like Royal Blood, putting them on TV and giving them the opportunity to record the theme tune to a BBC One music show is extraordinary,” he said. “I’m pleased that we managed to make that happen.”
FOLLOW 
