Aled Haydn Jones has been appointed as Head of Station for BBC Radio 1. He brings extensive senior experience across BBC radio to the role, and will lead a team with Radio 1 and 1Xtra's Head of Music Chris Price and Commissioning Executive Rachel McHalroy reporting into him.

The position is one of five new Head of Station roles responsible for the BBC’s pop music networks. Following the appointment of Helen Thomas as Head of Radio 2, the recruitment for the three other Head of Station roles at Radio 1Xtra, 6 Music and BBC Asian Network is ongoing.

Haydn Jones was previously a presenter on the BBC Radio 1 network, producer on live music events and Chris Moyles Breakfast Show, and most recently, Head of Programmes. He was behind the recent Radio 1 Big Weekend U.K. 2020, which showcased more than 50 new live sets recorded by artists from their own homes, as well as around 50 of the most memorable performances from previous Big Weekends.

At Christmas, he launched a new presenter search which resulted in 35 new DJs taking to the air over the festive period, including Radio 1’s first non-binary DJ and Radio 1’s first blind presenter.

Haydn Jones also oversaw the launch of the Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James, as well as supporting new music through Radio 1’s Live Lounge, Big Weekend, and Teen Awards.

“Aled has some exciting and ambitious new directions for Radio 1, and we are looking forward to a fresh approach for the station,” BBC Controller Popular Music Lorna Clarke said. “As the #1 network for young audiences across the country, we want to take some risks and really push ourselves to do more across all platforms.”

Radio 1 currently has a radio audience of around 10m listeners, and Haydn Jones has worked to supplement those numbers with 14m weekly viewers on its YouTube and iPlayer channels, and 10.5m social followers.

Haydn Jones said: “We know Radio 1 will never stand still, and we’re going to listen to our audience and give them what they want, how they want it."