There are reports that Capital Radio is sounding out Neil Fox and Radio 5 presenter Caroline Feraday as a ‘dream ticket’ double act to take over the station’s breakfast show when Chris Tarrant leaves later this year. Fox is generally seen as the favourite insider for the shift, and he has been given fill-in duties when Tarrant is away to test him out. Now Feraday, who co-presents on Matthew Bannister's Radio 5 show, is understood to have had meetings at the station, where she began her career as a travel presenter.
But Feraday's agent, Nigel Forsyth of MPC, has been candid: "Caroline is contracted to Radio 5 and is very happy there. She has been to the Capital building recently because she has a lot of friends there. But it would be absolutely wrong to say she has done a deal with them." But insiders seem to agree Fox would need a younger woman co-presenter to keep younger listeners, and many see Feraday as the prime candidate.
Last weekend Tarrant gave the strongest indication that he plans to leave the show. “There are 12th hour attempts by Capital to negotiate some sort of completely revised contract and I'm groaning: 'I've made up my mind now'," he said. If and when he leaves breakfast a weekend show syndicated over the Capital network is likely. Analysts have become more optimistic of a post-Tarrant breakfast show – although they admit an initial slump in listeners and advertisers is likely, they think long term things will improve pointing out that Tarrant’s audience, while still the biggest in London, is getting smaller, older and less attractive to advertisers.
Meanwhile the Chrysalis Radio Group have admitted they hope their London station Heart 106.2 can steel the breakfast show crown while Capital is in its post-Tarrant struggle by staging an offensive marketing campaign for its flagship show hosted by Jono Coleman and Emma Forbes. "There is a big opportunity in six to 12 months' time, if and when Chris Tarrant leaves Capital, for us to continue to increase our share when people reassess their choice of breakfast shows," Chrysalis Chief Exec Richard Huntingford admitted. "We've got a very good show with Jono and Emma and want to make sure that when Chris Tarrant goes and people move their radio dials that they alight on us, with the help of excellent programming and sustained marketing."