# Bill Rennells

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**William Rennells** (born 25 July 1931)[1] is an English broadcaster and former journalist, who presented *Harmony Night* on [BBC Radio Oxford](/source/BBC_Radio_Oxford), Kent and Berkshire until 2023. Rennells previously hosted the late-night programme *Nightride* on [BBC Radio 2](/source/BBC_Radio_2) for 14 years.

Born in [Canterbury](/source/Canterbury), Rennells spent 25 years working as a journalist for various newspapers throughout the south of England, these included the *[Kentish Gazette](/source/Kentish_Gazette)*, *[Eastbourne Gazette](/source/Eastbourne_Gazette)* and *[Oxford Mail](/source/Oxford_Mail)*. In 1970 he joined the newly formed [BBC Radio Oxford](/source/BBC_Radio_Oxford) as a news producer and then became a freelance presenter on [Radio Nottingham](/source/BBC_Radio_Nottingham).

In November 1978 Rennells joined the national broadcaster [BBC Radio 2](/source/BBC_Radio_2) as presenter of the Thursday edition of the graveyard slot, he also co-hosted the Monday night programme *Music from the Movies*. In 1980 he began presenting both the Sunday and Thursday graveyard programmes. In February 1984 he took over the early morning programme and occasionally deputised for [Ray Moore](/source/Ray_Moore_(broadcaster)) on the early breakfast show. In November 1984 he began presenting the late-night programme *Nightride*, which he presented until June 1993. He left Radio 2 soon after, however he did continue to present specialist programmes for the station until 1995.[2]

Rennells became one of the founding presenters of [Saga Radio](/source/Saga_DAB_radio) in 2004, where he presented a mid-morning programme.[3] In 2011 he returned to BBC [Radio Oxford](/source/BBC_Radio_Oxford), where he stayed until 2023. For 13 years he presented the Sunday late night programme *Harmony Night* which was also simulcast on BBC [Radio Kent](/source/BBC_Radio_Kent) and BBC [Radio Berkshire](/source/BBC_Radio_Berkshire).[4]

Rennells presented his final *Harmony Night* show on New Year's Eve 2023, after the show was axed due to local radio budget cuts. Rennells later revealed his *Harmony Night* programme is looking for a new home to broadcast on.[5]

## References

1. Annie, Grannie. ["World War II in Canterbury"](http://www.silverrobin.co.uk/world-war-ii-in-canterbury/). *Silverrobin*

1. ["Bill Rennells - BBC Genome"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170215034803/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=desc&q=Bill+Rennells#search). *BBC Genome*. Archived from [the original](http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=desc&q=Bill+Rennells#search) on 15 February 2017.

1. Mahoney, Elisabeth. ["Radio Review - A bit fifty-fifty"](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/feb/20/tvandradio.radio1). *Guardian*

1. ["BBC Local Radio - Harmony Night"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7f8). *BBC*

1. ["BBC radio legend addresses 'cruel' axing of show"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/bbc-radio-bill-rennells-axed-music-b2475687.html). *The Independent*

## External links

- [Presenter Profile: Bill Rennells](https://news.bbc.co.uk/local/oxford/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_8137000/8137966.stm)
- [BBC Local Radio Harmony Night](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7f8)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bill Rennells](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Rennells) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Rennells?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.