#105 2BD Aberdeen and R.E. Jeffrey: From First Gaelic Broadcast to First Sci-Fi

2025-10-03

"Aberdeen Calling!" On 10 October 1923, the BBC opened its seventh station: 2BD Aberdeen. Its station director R.E. Jeffrey was fresh from the success of Rob Roy - a drama he'd produced and starred in - and in later years he'd head up BBC drama, with contributions arguably including radio's first sci-fi and first sitcom (not at the same time - Red Dwarf was a while away yet). Our experts include author Gordon Bathgate (whose book Aberdeen Calling is recommended - link below)... academic Dr Aleksandar Koc...

"Aberdeen Calling!"

On 10 October 1923, the BBC opened its seventh station: 2BD Aberdeen.

Its station director R.E. Jeffrey was fresh from the success of Rob Roy - a drama he'd produced and starred in - and in later years he'd head up BBC drama, with contributions arguably including radio's first sci-fi and first sitcom (not at the same time - Red Dwarf was a while away yet).

Our experts include author Gordon Bathgate (whose book Aberdeen Calling is recommended - link below)... academic Dr Aleksandar Kocic of Edinburgh Napier University on why the BBC doesn't really do local radio in Scotland... plus notes from Prof Tim Crook on R.E. Jeffrey's later career... and much more.

We recreate for you Aberdeen's opening night - hear the songs and some of the voices. We look at the challenges of the weather, and the shrinking nature of BBC local radio - both in 1923 and in 2025.

Thoughts on any of this? Email me: paul at paulkerensa dot com. And see the below links for more on this marvellous tale...

SHOWNOTES:

Original music is by Will Farmer.
Gordon Bathgate's excellent book Aberdeen Calling: 100 Years of the BBC in Aberdeen is available for your bookshelf: https://amzn.to/42mDDuJ
Dr Aleksandar Kocic's thesis - 'What perceptions of local radio by its journalists and listeners tell us about its role and future' - is here: https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/handle/1893/35995?mode=full
Graham Stewart's website Scotland On Air has more on the 2BD Aberdeen story here: https://wiki.scotlandonair.com/wiki/2BD
Prof Tim Crook's article on R.E. Jeffrey and his pioneering sci-fi dramas is here: https://kulturapress.com/2022/08/29/r-e-jeffrey-pioneer-science-fiction-audio-playwright/
Our survey of what you like/don't about this podcast is here - do please spare 5mins to let me know your thoughts: http://tiny.cc/bbcenturysurvey
Paul's latest Substack is on the Boat Race leaving the BBC... and how it first arrived: https://paulkerensa.substack.com/p/the-boat-race-drifts-from-the-bbc
Paul's live show on the BBC origin story visits a variety of tour stops: www.paulkerensa.com/tour.
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