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Shaun Keaveny

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Shaun Keaveny
Keaveny at the Latitude Festival, 2013
Born
Shaun William Keaveny

(1972-06-14) 14 June 1972 (age 54)
Leigh, Lancashire, England
EducationSt Mary's Catholic High School, Astley
Alma materTrinity and All Saints College
OccupationsRadio presenter
Comedian
Magician
Musician (drums)
Known forBBC Radio 6 Music
BBC Radio 2

Shaun William Keaveny (born 14 June 1972)[1][2] is a British broadcaster, known for presenting BBC Radio 6 Music's breakfast show from 2007 to 2018, and the afternoon show from 2019 to 2021.[3] He currently presents BBC Radio 2's Rock Show[4] and Sounds of the 70s on Sunday afternoons. He is also the creator of Community Garden Radio[5][6].

Early life and education

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Keaveny grew up on the Higher Folds housing estate in Leigh, Lancashire.[7] He attended St Mary's Catholic High School, Astley and then Trinity and All Saints College in Leeds.[8]

Career

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Keaveny started his radio career at 2-Ten-FM, then Beacon FM before joining XFM London[5] presenting the weekday afternoon show (Monday-Thursday) and the Friday breakfast show until the end of 2006.[9]

In January 2007 Keaveny joined BBC Radio 6 Music initially presenting its late evening show[9], before moving to the BBC 6 Music Breakfast Show on 2 April 2007. He took over from Phill Jupitus, who had hosted the Breakfast slot since the station's inception in March 2002[10]. The show had regular music news updates from presenter Matt Everitt and Georgie Rogers.[citation needed] Brian Cox was a regular contributor to the show.[when?]

Keaveny's first book, R2D2 lives in Preston[11] was published in November 2010. It is a compilation of little known facts relating to various towns throughout the United Kingdom, advised by listeners to his radio show in a feature entitled Toast the Nation.[12]

On 16 February 2013, Keaveny took part in the fifth series of Let's Dance for Comic Relief as a member of Destiny's Dad alongside fellow stand-up comedians Hal Cruttenden and Mark Dolan.[13]

It was announced in August 2018 that Keaveny would move from his weekday BBC 6 Music breakfast show, to the Radcliffe and Maconie weekday afternoon slot in January 2019.[14][15] Keaveny hosted his final Breakfast Show live from the Maida Vale Studios on 14 December 2018 as part of the BBC 6 Music All Day Christmas Party.[16]

The Channel 5 series The Mega Council Estate Nextdoor aired in September 2020 was narrated by Keaveny.[17]

In June 2021, he announced that he would be leaving 6 Music in September 2021 after 14 years at the station saying "Things change, places change, people change, and it's time for a change."[18]

His final 6 Music show was on 10 September 2021.

After leaving BBC 6 Music he set up Community Garden Radio, an internet service which sees Keaveny broadcast a live show every Wednesday, and started a podcast called Creative Cul De Sac about people's unrealised ideas, as well as hosting The Line-Up, discussing guests' dream festivals.[19]

From April 2022 to June 2024 Keaveny presented the BBC Radio 4 show Your Place or Mine with Shaun Keaveny, on Saturday mornings where, with a co-presenter, guests from around the world try to convince him to visit the places they come from.[20][21]

Keaveny provided cover for several shows on BBC Radio 2, including Mark Radcliffe’s Folk Show for 10 weeks in early 2024 while Radcliffe took a break and Rob Beckett’s Sunday evening show for two weeks in October and November 2024.

He took over presenting the Friday night Rock Show from Johnnie Walker on 1 November 2024[22].

He also covered the Saturday teatime programme presented by Liza Tarbuck in August 2021, March 2022, October 2024, and from January to March 2026, before taking over the Saturday teatime slot on an interim basis from April to June 2026[23] after Tarbuck announced that she would not be returning.[24]

In March 2026, Keaveny started covering Sounds of the 70s whilst regular presenter Bob Harris was taking treatment for prostate cancer, and permanently took over from 7 June 2026 after Harris announced his retirement from broadcasting.[25]

Personal life

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Keaveny is married, and a father to two sons and a daughter.[26][7]

References

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  1. ↑ "Shaun Keaveny Live from Leigh, Lancashire". BBC.
  2. ↑ "Shaun's 40th Birthday Surprise!". BBC. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  3. ↑ "Shaun Keaveny Afternoon Show Mon-Fri 13:00-16:00". BBC.
  4. ↑ "BBC Radio 2 - The Rock Show with Shaun Keaveny". BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  5. 1 2 Chamberlain, Steve (3 April 2022). "Shaun Keaveny's journey from the BBC to DIY radio: 'It's been a huge liberation'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "Community Garden Radio". CommunityGardenRadio. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  7. 1 2 McGarrigle, Clyde (17 March 2017). "Shaun Keaveny: 'I was like one of those Italian sons who don't have to lift a finger'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "Uni goings-on part 1 - Shaun Keaveny". Leeds Trinity University. Leeds Trinity University. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Xfm London loses Keaveny to BBC 6 Music". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "BBC - Press Office - Shaun Keaveny to present new 6 Music breakfast show". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  11. ↑ ISBN 0-7522-2745-9, Boxtree (19 November 2010), downloaded 1 December 2010
  12. ↑ "Toast the Nation". toastthenation.com.
  13. ↑ "Let's Dance for Comic Relief: Destiny's Dad". BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  14. ↑ Sporn, Natasha (2019). "Lauren Laverne to replace Shaun Keaveny in huge BBC Radio 6 shake-up". Evening Standard. London.
  15. ↑ "Shaun Keaveny: the 6 Music curmudgeon who breaks every rule of breakfast radio". i. 10 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "Shaun Keaveny's last Breakfast Show - #BreakfastExit". BBC Radio 6 Music Shaun Keaveny. 14 December 2018.
  17. ↑ The Mega Council Estate Next Door (Documentary), Shaun Keaveny, Avalon, Channel 5 Television, 6 September 2020, retrieved 29 January 2021{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. ↑ "Shaun Keaveny to leave BBC 6 Music after 14 years". BBC. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  19. ↑ "The week in radio: 5 Live Drive; Nazanin; Shaun Keaveny's Community Garden Radio and more". The Guardian. 19 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - Your Place or Mine with Shaun Keaveny - Available now". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  21. ↑ "Your Place Or Mine". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  22. ↑ "The Rock Show with Shaun Keaveny". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  23. ↑ "BBC Radio 2 - Shaun Keaveny". BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  24. ↑ Hogan, Michael (12 March 2026). "Farewell Liza Tarbuck, the funniest person on radio". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  25. ↑ "Bob Harris to step down from Radio 2 after 56 years on air". BBC News. 4 June 2026.
  26. ↑ Elms, Robert (10 April 2022). "Shaun Keaveny, Keith Kahn-Harris, Peter Hughes". Robert Elms. BBC Radio. BBC Radio London. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022. We've got the two older boys and we've got our little daughter now, and my two older boys are... trying to inculcate southern vowels into my daughter, which me and my wife are a bit annoyed about.
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