Wogan still top morning radio DJ

BBC Radio 2's Wake up to Wogan remains the most popular breakfast radio show in the country, according to the latest figures from radio industry body Rajar.

The show had 7.75m listeners tuning in each week, which was down slightly from last quarter's record 8.1m.

Radio 2 also remains the UK's most popular station, with 13m listeners.

Rajar also revealed radio listening via mobile phone among people aged 15 and over continued to rise to 12.2% from 8.9% this time last year.

The figures, covering the period from 24 March to 22 June 2008, showed Radio 3 attracted more listeners for longer with 1.91m people tuning in every week, up from 1.8m last quarter.

AUDIENCE FIGURES JAN-MAR 2008 Radio 1 - 10.68m (10.87m) Radio 2 - 13m (13.1m) Radio 3 - 1.91m (1.78m) Radio 4 - 9.53m (9.49m) 5 Live - 6m (5.89m) 6 Music - 551,000 (471,000) Source: Rajar Figures in brackets are for the same period in 2007

"It is encouraging to see that listeners are staying with us for longer, giving us our highest average weekly listening for a couple of years," said Roger Wright, controller of Radio 3.

BBC 6 Music also posted its fourth consecutive record reach, with 551,000 listeners.

Radio 1 attracted 10.68m listeners per week in the quarter, down from 10.87m last year and 11.07m last quarter.

The Chris Moyles Show also saw a drop in its figures with 7.21m listeners - down from 7.26m last year and a record 7.72m last quarter.

BY-BBC NEWS

Why is John Barrowman gay?

Torchwood star John Barrowman has known he was gay since he was nine. But was he born that way or did his upbringing have something to do with it? Here, he explains why he set out to try to solve this mystery, for the BBC One show The Making of Me.

I was in the closet for three hours once in 1972. It was dark, uncomfortable, and really cramped. Plus, I was convinced I wasn't alone (a crumpled jacket lurking in the corner looked pretty dangerous). I was five and my brother, Andrew, then 10, and my sister, Carole, 13, had shoved me into the coat closet because, well, really for absolutely no good reason. I mean what baby brother has ever annoyed his siblings to the point of needing to be locked up or tied down?

This story still gets a laugh from my nieces and nephews. Depending on who's doing the telling, Uncle John was either locked up for 30 fleeting minutes or for three long, tortuous, oxygen-starved hours. As simple as the story is I think it's an apt metaphor for the way I've chosen to live my life - openly, honestly, with no regrets. And, whenever I can, I try to confront the monsters in the dark. As my favourite Jerry Herman song proclaims: "There's no return and no deposit. One life. So open up your closet."

BY-BBC NEWS

Talking Shop: Rupert Penry-Jones

Spooks star Rupert Penry-Jones talks about his latest BBC drama Burn Up, a two-part thriller centred around climate change.

Penry-Jones plays oil executive Tom McConnell in the BBC's Burn Up

Fans of BBC One's spy drama Spooks are used to seeing Rupert Penry-Jones risking life and limb for queen and country.

But in two-part thriller Burn Up the 37-year-old actor takes on a more cerebral role as an oil executive caught up in a global conspiracy.

Written by Simon Beaufoy, who was Oscar-nominated for his work on hit comedy The Full Monty, the drama takes a topical look at the dangers of climate change.

The son of To the Manor Born star Angela Thorne, Penry-Jones - who has two young children with actress wife Dervla Kirwan - will also be seen soon in ITV crime drama Whitechapel.

BY-BBC NEWS