Broadcasting: Listeners still deserting Radio 1

Radio 1 lost 135,000 listeners in January, the month when its star disc jockey Chris Evans left the breakfast show. Leaked audience figures also show that those tuning in to the station listened for 10 per cent less time than in the last quarter of 1996.

Listeners had already started to drift away from the station before Evans even left. Radio 1 had lost 600,000 of its 11m listeners in final quarter of 1996, the last period that the official Rajar figures cover.

Meanwhile, Radio 5 Live has hired Richard Littlejohn, the outspoken columnist and broadcaster, as a replacement for presenter Danny Baker who was sacked on Wednesday for insulting listeners.