• Virgin Radio Groove officially launched
• New channel joins Virgin Radio Anthems and Virgin Radio Chilled

It was double celebrations for the Virgin Radio family at The News Building today. Virgin Radio Groove was officially launched and marked the occasion with a takeover of Virgin Radio all day, kicking off on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky.

Also hitting a huge milestone today was the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky who reached their first birthday. Marking the occasion Chris Evans said: "This time last year I returned to my spiritual home at Virgin Radio and I have loved every minute of it since then. We instantly changed commercial radio forever - creating the first ad-break free breakfast show, thanks to our partnership with Sky. We are delighted with the listening figures and our numbers have continued to grow every month. Over the next year our plan for the breakfast show is simple; to continue to give it all we’ve got and have the most possible fun along the way".

It has been a year of highs for the show. The most recent RAJAR listening figures saw the show’s reach increase to 1.114m listeners, delivering 4.5m listening hours. With its innovative ad break-free format, it has established a loyal and highly engaged audience with A-list guests including Damian Lewis, Katherine Ryan, Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Grant, James Martin Nadiya Hussain, David Walliams, Billy Connolly, Seth Rogan, David Cameron, Ben Elton, and live sessions from bands including Kaiser Chiefs, Scouting For Girls and Feeder.

Virgin Radio Groove is the home for the toe tappers out there...those of you who like to dance around the supermarket aisles or pull some moves while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil -  the best of dance and r&b, from the '70s through to today.

Targeted at 30-45 year olds, Virgin Radio Groove is a presenter-led channel focused on rhythmic pop. It has everything from Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston belters through to '00s bangers from Rihanna and David Guetta. There's something for everyone and every mood. Start your day with at 6.30am with the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky, followed by Chris Brooks (10am-2pm), Steve Denyer (2pm-6pm) and Bam (6pm-10pm).

Mike Cass, Content Director for Virgin Radio, said: “Talk about kicking off 2020 with a bang! New stations, A-list guests, birthday celebrations...it’s all go here at Virgin Radio. We had a phenomenal 2019 with Chris Evans back in the fold and the launch of two stonking new digital stations, Virgin Radio Anthems and Virgin Radio Chilled.

The launch of Virgin Radio Groove highlights Wireless’ confidence in the Virgin Radio offering. It’s a sensational station and that will no doubt fast become the go-to destination for music to make you move.”

You can listen to Virgin Radio Groove on smart speakers, your phone using the Virgin Radio app, online at virginradio.co.uk. and also on DAB in London and Central Scotland,

Virgin Radio Groove joins Virgin Radio Anthems, which targets 35+ audiences with the best guitar-led classics from the 60’s to the 90’s; and Virgin Radio Chilled, targeting 25-44-year-olds with a more laid-back repertoire of singer-songwriters.

The Virgin Radio network (including Virgin Radio, Virgin Radio Anthems and Virgin Radio Chilled) now reaches 1.64m (up 303% year-on-year), delivering 9.2m hours (up 508% year-on-year). Every show in Virgin Radio’s daytime schedule - including Sam Pinkham, Eddy Temple-Morris, Tim Cocker, Kate Lawler and Steve Denyer - delivered record listening figures.