BBC radio breakfast shows enjoy increase in listeners

Most of the BBC’s flagship radio breakfast shows saw a jump in listeners at the end of last year, figures show.

Audiences for Greg James on Radio 1, Scott Mills on Radio 2 and the breakfast programmes on Radio 3 and Five Live all increased in the period October to December 2025 compared with the previous three months.

But Radio 4’s Today programme saw a slight drop in listeners, according to the latest data published by the research body Rajar.

Scott Mills had an average weekly audience of 6.47 million in October-December, up from 6.16 million the previous quarter and his highest figure since taking over the Radio 2 breakfast show in early 2025.

His listeners are still slightly lower than during Zoe Ball’s last period on the show in October-December 2024, when the average audience was 6.83 million.

It is a similar picture for Greg James, with 3.87 million listeners in the three months to December: up from 3.82 million in the previous quarter, but lower than 4.10 million a year earlier.

By contrast, the Radio 3 and Five Live breakfast programme have added listeners both on the quarter and on the year.

The Radio 3 programme, hosted by Tom McKinney, had an average weekly audience of 840,000 in October-December 2025, up sharply by 22% from 687,000 in July-September and a rise of 2% from 827,000 in October-December 2024.

Five Live’s breakfast show had 1.48 million listeners in the latest quarter, up 16% from 1.27 million in the previous quarter and up 5% year on year from 1.41 million.

The average audience for Radio 4’s Today programme stood at 5.47 million at the end of last year, down very slightly from 5.49 million on the quarter and a drop of 5% year on year from 5.74 million.

Radio 2 has lost nearly two million listeners since autumn 2021, when Rajar resumed reporting after a gap caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

It remains the UK’s most popular station, however, with an average weekly audience in October-December 2025 of 12.71 million.

This is down slightly from 12.79 million on the previous three months and a drop of 7% from 13.65 million a year earlier.

Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: “In a quarter where Sara Cox ran five marathons in five days, with the listeners getting behind her to raise an astonishing £12 million for Children In Need, I’m thrilled that Radio 2 continues to be the UK’s most listened to single radio station.

“Vernon Kay continues to be the most listened to show on UK radio, growing to 6.7 million listeners each week.

“Many thanks go to the Radio 2 listeners, who are tuning in for just over 11 hours each week, a four-year record.”

Radios 3 and 4 both grew their overall average audiences in the latest quarter, with Radio 3 up 6% to 1.91 million and Radio 4 up 1% to 8.92 million.

Listeners to Radios 1 and Five Live fell slightly on the quarter, by 3% and 2% respectively.

The latest Rajar figures also show that audiences for the commercial radio station Greatest Hits have dropped 20% in a year, from 7.37 million in October-December 2024 to 5.91 million in October-December 2025.

This is the lowest number of weekly listeners to the station since April-June 2023.

Among the smaller news-based stations, Times Radio had an average of 542,000 listeners across the three months to December, down 4% on the previous quarter and a drop of 10% on the year.

GB News averaged 672,000 listeners in the latest quarter, down 2% on the quarter but up steeply by 44% year on year.