Late Junction is a music programme broadcast weekly on Friday nights by BBC Radio 3. Billed as "Journeys in music, ancient to future. The home for adventurous listeners.", the programme has a wide musical scope. It is not uncommon to hear medieval ballads juxtaposed with 21st-century electronica, or jazz followed by international folk music followed by an ambient track. Each edition of the programme runs for 90 minutes.
History
The programme was created soon after Roger Wright took over as controller of BBC Radio 3, as part of changes with which Wright believed that he was addressing "this feeling people had that they didn't want to put Radio 3 on unless they were going to listen carefully". The first programme was broadcast on 13 September 1999 and produced by Antony Pitts.
Late Junction won a Sony gold award in 2003 for Music Programming. The show was described as "A radio jewel. Is there a show like this anywhere else in the radio world? Everyone who hears the show falls in love with it. Surprising, revealing, accessible. Brilliantly programmed - a show where the real star is the music."
The programme's main regular presenters are Verity Sharp and Jennifer Lucy Allan, who alternate as solo presenters. Before the shift from three 90-minute shows per week to a single two-hour broadcast in late 2019, other regular presenters included the show's founding presenter Fiona Talkington,
In March 2019, BBC Radio 3 Controller Alan Davey announced that Late Junction was being cut from three episodes a week to a single two-hour slot on Fridays from Autumn 2019. More than 500 people from the world of music, including Brian Eno, Billy Bragg, Jarvis Cocker, Martin Carthy and Eliza Carthy signed an open letter objecting to the cut.
From April 2024, as part of a new schedule introduced by BBC Radio 3 Controller Sam Jackson, Late Junction's weekly running time was cut by a further 30 minutes to 90 minutes and it also moved to the earlier start time of 10pm.
Presenters
Current presenters
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- Verity Sharp