Park Radio DJ achieves dream with spot on Radio 1

A DJ, who started his career at a Waveney Valley radio station, achieved a lifetime ambition when he fronted an early morning show for BBC Radio 1.

Matt Hallsworth, who hails from Harleston, was on the mic for the national broadcaster during its 6am to 7am slot on December 29.

It completed a meteoric rise for the former Sancroft High School pupil, who took his first steps into the world of broadcasting with Park Radio when he was a fresh-faced teenager.

The 20-year-old said: “I was doing my Duke of Edinburgh Scheme at the time and, as part of that, you had to go somewhere and either learn a new skill or start volunteering.

“A few mates were also doing it, so I decided to get them all involved in broadcasting.”

The group approached Park Radio, which covers Diss, Eye and Harleston, and they took part in its Year 10 Takeover.

The group went through a few months of training at Diss Youth and Community Centre, once a week, to find out how the desk works, before having a run of 13 shows over the course of six months.

“I’ve always had a passion for radio, and have listened to it a lot from a very young age,” said Mr Hallsworth.

“Sometimes, I would use a dictaphone and a CD player and pretend I was on the radio in my garden shed. But Park Radio was the real catalyst for getting me started.”

After sixth form, the DJ started studying at the University of Salford for a degree in television and radio production in 2022 and joined the student station, called Shock.

Last January, he met a network content producer for Hits Radio Network, which led to him gaining some freelance shifts over the summer, some shadowing on the breakfast show and his first paid shift in the industry.

“When I went into their studios and saw a proper national radio station for the first time, with people you would recognise walking in and out, the radio geek inside me was just buzzing,” he told the Diss Express.

The DJ is also an award winner, having scooped the Best On Air Team category from the International Student Broadcasting Championships in both 2023 and 2024, as well as the Best Chart Show at the National Student Radio Awards in November.

But it was his Best Presenter award win that night that paved the way for his opportunity to work on Radio 1.

“I was sitting there and the two runners-up were announced and my name hadn’t been read out,” he recalled. “I remember thinking that I had given it a good go ... and then I was announced as the winner. I threw my head in my hands – it was overwhelming.”

The award win gave him his spot on Radio 1 as opened up its airwaves to new and upcoming DJs over the festive period.

“It was a golden chance to put Norfolk and my hometown of Harleston on the national map,” added Mr Hallsworth.

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