Edith Bowman is taking on Chris Moyles, Nick Grimshaw and Chris Evans at breakfast on Virgin Radio.
ELLE's music editor and former BBC broadcaster Bowman joins the station's launch lineup in its 6am-10am morning slot, and she'll be the only full-time solo female presenter broadcasting nationwide.
An "utterly thrilled" Bowman said: "Being back on the radio five days a week is going to be a lot of fun, and a place where I can share my passion for music and film with a wonderful audience.
"I feel honoured to be given the responsibility and can't wait to get started - being the only solo female breakfast show host on national radio is an exhilarating opportunity.
"Live bands, films, established artists, new music, interviews and an open conversation with the morning audience is going to be an absolute pleasure."
Bowman will be joined on weekdays at Virgin Radio by Thronecast co-host Jamie East (10am-1pm), Big Brother 3 winner and former Kerrang! Radio DJ Kate Lawler (1pm-4pm), former Xtra Factor host Matt Richardson (4pm-7pm) and ex-Xfm presenter Tim Cocker (7pm-11pm).
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"Securing a presenter as talented as Edith Bowman speaks volumes about our commitment to making a real impact in music radio," said station programme director Liam Thompson.
"Jamie, Kate, Matt and Tim will do a great job in entertaining the nation throughout the day; listeners are going to want to tune in and turn us up!"
Virgin Radio returns to the airwaves on Wednesday, March 30.
Kate (they/she) is a freelance writer, editor, digital editorial trainer and data technician who first joined Digital Spy as an overnight freelance sub-editor in January 2011, after studying a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Salford University while working part-time as a social researcher.
In July 2013, Kate joined the DS staff team as chief sub-editor and following six years as the site's managing editor, their role expanded to incorporate Hearst UK's entertainment portfolio (including Digital Spy and its sibling titles Best and Inside Soap) between late 2024 and early 2026.
Kate has worked as a writer and editor since 2006, with bylines syndicated across the Hearst network and at organisations including Metro. They started their career as a TV production runner for the BBC and contributed to various music websites, blogs and zines while based in Manchester.
During her time at DS, Kate has previously been a freelance sub-editor and chief sub-editor.
Kate's team at Digital Spy were proudly nominated in the Best Subbing/Production Team category at the BSME Talent Awards 2022. Over the years, she has contributed to coverage of many, many Prime Days and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and was part of the team that launched the DS weekly TV newsletter in November 2019 – followed by the Top of the Shops e-commerce newsletter in May 2024.
Kate's screen passions include Taskmaster (their biggest career regret remains turning down the opportunity to visit the house), nature documentaries, and live sport (up there with the greatest of all soap operas although if asked to choose, it's Corrie… every time).
Her highlights while working at DS have included interviewing Stevie Nicks on the red carpet for her documentary In Your Dreams, sitting at a press roundtable with Formula 1 commentary icon Murray Walker, watching a life-sized LEGO car being driven around Silverstone, writing an album-by-album retrospective of Lady Gaga's genre-defying career for Living Legends, and raising awareness of receiving and understanding a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis through the lens of Bianca and Freddie's EastEnders storyline.
Upon remembering to log off the internet, Kate enjoys live theatre, dance and comedy, appreciating nature, baking (badly), tending a recently-rented allotment (equally badly) and pampering one very spoiled rescue cat named Jolene.
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