Chris Rogers is currently a presenter for BBC News on the BBC news channel and for BBC 1 main bulletins.  He also conducts special investigations for the BBC’s News output, most recently an undercover expose on Brazil’s child prostitutes for the BBC News at Ten and Radio 4.  His investigations has led to numerous awards including Royal Television Society, One World and Amnesty International Awards.  Chris also presents the news on LBC’s breakfast programme.

We asked Chris to share some of his memories from his time with Hospital Radio Chelmsford. 

Every Saturday morning at around 4am, I would set off on the four mile hike from my home to St Johns Hospital and without fail, the milkman would slowly drive past me and wave from his float.

This polite exchange continued for many Saturdays until a bitterly cold and wet November morning when perhaps out of a curiosity, or sympathy, the milkman stopped and asked me where I was heading to every Saturday, week after week, so early in the morning?

When I told him I presented the Saturday Breakfast Show on Hospital Radio Chelmsford, he smiled warmly and told me to hop in.  As we headed to the studio, just slightly faster than walking but at least sheltered from the elements, he explained that in the final weeks of his wife’s life, HRC had brought her much comfort and joy.

He wife loved the request programme and always got a mention.  She died of cancer.  From that Saturday onwards, he gave me a ride to the studio and a bottle of milk.

While I will be forever grateful for the free ride, the milkman is also a permanent reminder that Hospital Radio is not just about the personal ambitions of the hopefuls that grace its airwaves, it provides an invaluable service to the sick, the old, and the dying.  It’s special because unlike any other radio station, it’s just for them.

I am of course grateful for the opportunity Hospital Radio Chelmsford gave me to gain the confidence and experience I needed to enter the professional broadcasting world just a couple of years later; but it was also a lesson that radio is a magical and very personal form of broadcasting that can change, improve, inspire and comfort so many lives.

If you are interested to know more about getting involved with Hospital Radio Chelmsford, click here, complete the form and we will be in contact you to answer any questions you may have.