Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2010/January 2011 | Page 55

interview

Island Life - December 2010

Photos: Left main - Alex in his studio at BBC Radio Solent,
Inset - Alex interviewing Jon Cut-Hill from BBC Inside Out

WORDS - PETER WHITE

Alex Dyke

A very happy chappy!
Alex Dyke, the popular Island radio presenter, has finally come full circle,
and reckons he could not be more pleased at the outcome.
Alex recently became the mid-morning
presenter on BBC Radio Solent – the
Southampton-based station where he
actually began his broadcasting career
back in the mid-1980s.
Born in Shanklin, and educated at
Shanklin C of E, Ventnor Middle and
Sandown High Schools, Alex built
a reputation as a controversial and
outspoken presenter during his time on
the Island’s leading commercial radio
station.
But now he says those days of the
‘shock jock’ are behind him for good.
“The shock jock act was great fun to
do, but it really has had its time,” he
says. “A lot of presenters who did it
have re-invented themselves, and I am
among them.”
More recently Alex spent a year in
the United States, but leaped at the
opportunity to join Radio Solent,
explaining: “I wanted to get back to
doing something that was more like
the real me. What I used to do was an
amplified version of the real me when
you had to appear cross or upset at
certain things.”
Now, and not just because he works
for the Corporation, Alex maintains:
“Broadcasting has changed and you
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have to be a lot more responsible. It is
a privilege to work for the BBC. Perhaps
I could compare it with what I used to
do by saying if you were a footballer
playing for Newport FC you might not
bother to turn up for training. But if
you were playing for Portsmouth or
Southampton you would make sure you
trained extra hard to be in the team. It’s
common sen 6R&V