Boss of Teesside radio station Zetland FM hails King’s Award as ‘incredible honour’

Receiving a King’s Award is one of the proudest moments in Teesside radio station Zetland FM’s history, its boss says.

Founded in 2015 and broadcasting from the Redcar Beacon, Zetland FM has been granted the King’s Award for Voluntary Service – the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and equivalent to an MBE. Broadcasting 24 hours a day, its mix of music, local content and specialist programmes has proved a winning formula with its legion of listeners, both in the UK and even abroad, since it first went on the air.

And station founder, chairman and presenter Jeremy Gartland called the award “an incredible honour” and “a tribute to anyone who has been involved with the station.” He told Teesside Live: “For more than nine years, Zetland FM has existed because of the dedication of our amazing team and the loyalty of our listeners, which I always find extremely humbling.

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“A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes to provide a radio station which, we hope, local people feel is always there for them. To receive The King’s Award For Voluntary Service is an extremely proud moment for all of us.”

Receiving the award is a landmark moment for the station, which launched at midday on Bank Holiday Monday, August 31, 2015. In a nod to the station's Redcar Beacon location, the first song played was On The Beach by Chris Rea.

The first voice heard on air was Jeremy Gartland’s, with an initial presenter line-up including Gary Wilkinson on breakfast, Julie Donaldson on Mid-Mornings, Jeremy on drivetime and various specialist programmes in the evenings, including blues, local bands, folk, brass bands, a programme hosted by local teenagers, and a country show.

Within weeks of the launch, it was announced that the owners of the Redcar Steelworks, SSI UK, had entered into liquidation. A local campaign was launched to ‘Save Our Steel’ and Zetland FM was at the forefront of reporting on the story, uniting local people who were concerned about the effect the closure would have on the local jobs and economy.

In 2018, Zetland FM was shortlisted for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – the same year as presenter Julie Donaldson achieved the gold award in the Female Presenter of the Year category at the Community Radio Awards in Sheffield, having won bronze the previous year. Julie’s Morning Mix programme then won the Community Show of the Year gold award in 2019.

Tragically, Julie died in James Cook University Hospital in October 2020 after being hospitalised with Covid. On the day of her funeral, she made one final trip to the Redcar Beacon as her hearse was driven along the Esplanade to the sound of applause from listeners who had gathered to pay their respects. The station’s main studio was subsequently renamed The Julie Donaldson Studio in her memory.

Throughout the first nine years of Zetland FM, serving the community has been at the heart of what it does. Highlights have included supporting events such as tribute act festival Summer Sound and the Redcar Fun Gala, the mayor’s charity ball, Christmas carol services, festive lights switch-ons and Armed Forces Day.

To enhance its coverage of the Redcar and Middlesbrough areas, Zetland FM launched on digital DAB in 2023 – a service due for a further signal boost soon. Mr Gartland added: "The great thing about this award is that it celebrates all our volunteers. And that's not just the presenters you hear on air – behind the scenes we have producers, journalists, sales staff, and our amazing technical team who keep things running smoothly.

"I think the one thing everyone at Zetland FM has in common is a real passion for the area we broadcast to, and the people in it. We are always looking to promote the fantastic work done by local groups and organisations, and to give them a platform to tell people about the great work that they are doing.

"In the nine years we’ve been on air, there have been so many proud moments, from featuring on TV in BBC2 documentary The Mighty Redcar through to Julie Donaldson winning gold at the national community radio awards – and now an award from The King! To receive the King’s Award for Voluntary Service is yet another milestone in our history and I am sure there are many more still to come.”

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