BFBS Update December 2024

Since the last update I have met so many inspirational people in our global military community. I recently travelled to Nepal, to spend time with our brilliant BFBS Gurkha team, and meet personnel to learn more about how the British Army’s Gurkhas are recruited and the ways in which Gurkha veterans are supported. 

I’d also like to thank our worldwide audiences who took part in our BFBS Big Salute virtual mile-a-thon at the beginning of October – with your help we smashed our target and covered 17,064 miles, raising vital funds for armed forces charities. And later that month, I met some exceptional individuals at the LGBTQ+ Defence Awards, for which BFBS is media partner.  

Closer to home, I’m immensely proud of the achievements of our BFBS employees this year, four of whom were recently invited to Buckingham Palace to meet the King and our patron, Queen Camilla. And in 2025 we look forward to bringing more people together through our media and entertainment services, and creating content on platforms that our audiences can trust, wherever they are based. 

In this update we’ve got details of our Christmas line-up on TV, radio and at the cinema, plus news of our latest live events, podcasts, and partnerships with industry....and we also introduce our new ice cream van! 

I wish you and your families all the very best for the festive break. 

Ben Chapman 

CEO BFBS 

We took our podcast Sitrep on the road, broadcasting live from SHAPE in Mons with DSACEUR, with Admiral Sir Keith Blount as our special guest. The UK's most senior officer in Nato discussed future challenges with Professor Michael Clarke in front of an audience of international personnel.  

In November, to mark 1,000 days of war, we reported from Ukraine, including seeing the British Challenger 2 in action and Ukrainian fighters trained in Op Interflex. And earlier this month we were pleased to be able to join the crew on board HMS Prince of Wales as she visited Liverpool and took on flagship status. Captain Will Blackett said being CO was "the best job in the Navy". 

And at the invitation of No 10, our Cyprus reporter recorded a special message for personnel from the Prime Minister on his visit to RAF Akrotiri. He told them the country is proud of their service and acknowledged that sometimes it goes under the radar for security reasons. 

For those based overseas, BFBS TV is bursting with top-flight live sport this Christmas, including World Darts Championship, Fury v Usyk 2, and back-to-back Boxing Day Premier League matches, alongside our unrivalled line-up of premium action courtesy of Sky Sports and TNT Sports – all free at the point of access. 

We also have major movie blockbusters, including Inside Out 2, Sing 2, Avatar: The Way of Water, Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes from Disney and Twisters, Joker: Folie à Deux, and Beetlejuice from Warner Bros.  Families and children can also enjoy Great! Christmas, Pop and Pop Max. And we’ve extended our range of live and on-demand content in the Nepali language, in response to direct feedback from Gurkha communities. 

Listeners to BFBS Radio can win daily prizes on our UK National Breakfast Show advent calendar competition, and between 14-26 December we’ll bring the forces world closer, broadcasting messages from personnel and families, including those deployed overseas, and each of the Service Chiefs.  

And on the big screen, we’ve got festive favourites like Home Alone and Elf, plus Gladiator II on our Cinelink service from Christmas Day.  And screening on the same day as UK release, we bring you Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, and Kraven The Hunter. 

For the Our 1000 Days of War series, our BFBS Creative team produced emotive and informative videos for the MoD focusing on the human stories behind Op Interflex and the conflict in Ukraine. They include a gripping interview with linguist Aliia, through to a heartwarming video capturing the commemoration of Ukrainian Independence Day by a group of Ukrainian linguists. 

And in September, BFBS Creative launched the Culture Colonel podcast series, dedicated to exploring leadership within the Armed Forces and defence sectors. 

It’s hosted by retired Army Colonel and Creative’s Head of Inclusion Lindsay MacDuff, who has interviewed seventeen guests to date, including Major Rosie Wild – the first woman to pass the parachute regiment's demanding P Company test – and former Chief of Defence People, Richard Nugee who led a review into sustainability in the forces. The series delves into all aspects of personal development, achievements, and lessons learned along the way. 

Contact our award-winning BFBS Creative agency here. 

Our partnerships with the tech, media, and defence industries have strengthened this year, helping us to deliver even more exceptional content on our secure distribution platforms. 

Our ongoing collaboration with BT Media and Broadcast for our cloud-based systems, ensures a future-proof method of offering media to those overseas and at sea, and our partnership led to a joint nomination for a Broadcast Tech Innovation Award. The solutions that BFBS has engineered for our audiences were also the subject of a presentation given by our Principal Engineer, Mark Edgar and Broadcast Engineer, Vanessa Tarrier at Radio TechCon, the UK radio and audio industry's technical and engineering conference. 

BFBS is also working with an international coalition of partners, after being selected to participate in a groundbreaking programme by 5G-EMERGE. This European initiative is designed to enable efficient media delivery through the integration of satellite, 5G, and terrestrial IP infrastructures. 

Since July our BFBS Live Events team has delivered 22 events for personnel and families, overseas, on deployments, and at home, by engaging performers including magicians and musicians, comedians, circus acts and face-painters, as well as planning full productions including the Army Sports Awards at Sandhurst. 

Recent highlights include an event in Estonia for troops on Op Cabrit, where one of the vehicle hangars was turned into a rocking gig. An impressive stage, sound and light package were installed, and performers included a comedian, two solo musicians, a covers band, DJ, and BFBS Dancers. The show generated a huge buzz and lots of appreciation from the soldiers in the audience.  

The team’s beneficiary work has also supported events at Chicksands, Beachley Barracks, Leuchars, Tidworth and Windsor. Following a beneficiary event at Larkhill for 19th Regiment Royal Artillery for their Chin Kiang Fu Day (their battle honour) Maj Hart, Commander 127 (Dragon) Battery RA, said: "The entertainment provided was exceptional, and it made the event for our people. It is hugely appreciated by me and my team… the whole package was spectacular. The characters made the children's day". 

If you need help with providing entertainment for your unit, ship, or families’ day, contact the Live Events team here. 

Creating entertaining and informative content that resonates with the military community drives our work at BFBS, so we were hugely excited when five of our BFBS Radio presenters scooped seven awards at this year’s Community Radio Awards. 

BFBS Brize Norton’s Hayley Hammond was awarded gold for Entertainment Show of the Year and silver for News, Journalism and Factual Storytelling, BFBS Aldershot’s Richard Wyeth and Natasha Reneaux won gold for Sports Show of the Year, and bronze for News, Journalism and Factual Storytelling respectfully.  

 BFBS Catterick’s Ollie Hilton also picked up gold for Young Person of the Year, and BFBS Salisbury Plain’s Ryan Galpin won two silvers for Male Presenter of the Year and Entertainment Show of the Year. 

What a haul! 

Since 2010, our hugely popular Operation Ice Cream van has covered more than 300,000 miles, so it was time for an upgrade to a new ePower van with roof-mounted solar panels.  

All of the ice cream delivery and storage on the van now operates on battery power. The vehicle is also larger than before, with added space for storing the batteries and housing the electrical charging. There’s also room for a stand-alone freezer, so we can offer a vegan option for the first time ever! 

We cater for unit events, families' days, and military schools and we normally stay for two hours, although we do not attend any evening events such as summer balls, Christmas parties etc.  

To book Op Ice Cream, please email [email protected]