What a difference 10 years makes. In 1999, Vanessa Feltz's BBC daytime show was cut after it was revealed that some of her guests were in fact actors. Last night, at the Sony Radio Awards, Feltz walked away with the gold award in the Speech Radio Personality of the Year category – one of the most coveted prizes – beating Eddie Mair.
As one of Mair's staunchest fans, it pains me to say that in this instance, the judging panel got it right. Feltz's mid-morning show on BBC London is a textbook phone-in, warmly and confidently presented, with a passionate sense of connection with its audience. Listening this morning, Feltz was as vivid as ever after a late night, and impressively fluid as she switched between topics, serious (MPs' expenses) and frothy (whether women over 40 should wear short skirts).
Feltz's change of fortunes, from someone it was fine, if not mandatory, to be snooty about not so long ago, to an acclaimed radio host, reminds us what a talented broadcaster Feltz was, and is. She has that rare thing in radio – a warm connection with her listeners, which never feels forced or patronising. And she gets into the nooks of ideas, sometimes unpalatable ones (this morning she was talking to someone who intends to vote BNP and she explored his reasons why in a calm, cool manner) without going all shock jock on us.
The other thing about Feltz's success last night was that it was brilliant to see a woman taking one of the main prizes for once. I was struck, looking at the radio industry crowd at the Grovesnor House Hotel, how many women are involved in making some of the best programmes, but how very few are garlanded with prime-time slots, or prizes. Most lamentably of all, the country's most popular station, Radio 2, which did well with its presenters taking prizes last night, still has no female presenter on the daytime schedules during the week. Vanessa Feltz's award can't hide the fact that there remains a stubborn lack of women in key roles on our radio stations, and it needs addressing. A regular slot for Zoë Ball on Radio 2 might be a very good place to start.
