Global radio stations to join in with mass applause for NHS workers

Kate Garraway and Chris Moyles are among the presenters who will show appreciation for NHS employees as Global radio stations join in with a mass round of applause for those working to battle the coronavirus.

They will pause to join the round of applause taking place around the country at 8pm on March 26 following the online Clap For Our Carers campaign, and are encouraging people to stand and clap at their windows, front doors, balconies and in their living rooms.

Presenters on LBC, Heart, Capital, Capital XTRA, Smooth, Classic FM, Radio X and Gold announced they would be backing the campaign and Garraway, Moyles, Jenni Falconer, Roman Kemp, Nick Ferrari, Jamie Theakston and John Suchet announced their support for the movement on their breakfast shows.

Garraway, who hosts a show on Smooth Radio, said she had her own experience with the NHS during a health emergency, and said: “About a year ago, maybe a bit longer, I saw first-hand how brilliant the NHS are in a crisis.

“I got up at 2am in the morning, went to Good Morning Britain at three in the morning, and I had a raging temperature.

“I felt dizzy, I felt sick, it was clear to the producers there that I couldn’t broadcast. I was rushed to hospital and they treated me for suspected meningitis, thankfully it wasn’t, it was just a virus. Well, now we’re dealing with another virus.”

Radio X presenter Moyles rallied his listeners to “make some noise for the thousands and thousands of people (in the NHS) that we’ll probably never meet, just to say ‘thank you’ for everything they are doing for us” with a powerful message.

James Rea, director of broadcasting at Global, said: “Over the past two weeks we have received an overwhelming number of sympathetic messages for NHS workers from our listeners.

“We have also heard directly from NHS staff about their plight to stem the spread of this deadly and unprecedented virus and to care for the many people who are being affected by it.

“Across every Global station, the outpouring of support for the NHS during this challenging time has been incredible and it therefore seems fitting that we use our 25 million listeners to amplify awareness of applauding our NHS heroes, thereby delivering the most enormous and deserved tribute, this Thursday night.”