Meet the presenters

Hi, I'm Debbie which equals Mum to 2 amazing grown up children and Nan to 4 wonderful grandchildren. I run my own marketing business, but my passion is radio. I've been around it for the last 23 years and I'm still as excited now as I was then. The icing on the cake is being a Breakfast Presenter, I absolutely love it, plus I'm very proud to be the Station & Programming Manger. I love to sing and dance and write, I'm currently in the middle of writing a book, not sure how long that'll take to finish, but it keeps me busy.

Paul has been presenting radio programmes since 1990 - starting at the age of 14. Firstly with student and hospital radio before moving to work in Thanet for TLR. He presented the live overnight programme at the weekend and went onto present on Neptune, CTFM and KMFM across the county filling in for many programmes over the years. Now since 2012, Paul has presented the Saturday breakfast programme here at Academy FM and has a love for '80s music & travel.

Andy was born and raised in Thanet but moved away to attend college. After finishing his education he returned to his roots and lived and worked in the area for many years before moving recently to Canterbury. Andy works as a conveyancing solicitor and is a Partner at Direction Law in Canterbury. Andy has presented shows on various radio stations in Thanet, as well as on stations in Norwich, Guildford and in Southern Spain and has been on Academy FM since the day it launched.

I was born in Dartford & moved to Thanet in 1984, I've worked for Mellow 1557 in Frinton On-Sea & SGR in Ipswich. In 1994 I was MD for Thanet Sound who applied for the licence for Thanet which was awarded to TLR. I've been very lucky to work on other radio stations in Kent with some great people & I have interviewed some famous stars, including David Essex, Norman Wisdom, Jimmy Tarbuck, Harry Hill, just to name a few. I have an events company Classic Music & Motors & organise Classic Motor Shows.

Patrick Foster has been broadcasting for the last quarter-century around London and the South East of England. His first professional gig was on TLR at Margate before going on to have stints at CTRfm, CTFM, Trafficlink, Globecast Radio and Channel Travel Radio. He also works as a journalist and has written a number of books on naval and historical subjects as well as an e-novel called Catalina. He loves all sugary foodstuffs and Italian cuisine although he can only rustle up beans on toast.

Craig was born and raised in Thanet. He began in radio over 20 years ago at Viking radio at Sea Bathing Hospital in Margate. Moving onto Radio Cabin, a Community Radio station in Herne Bay. He continues there with "The Mid-Morning Show" on Sundays. Craig joined Academy FM early 2015 with Thursday evenings "Your Shout" and now you'll find him on Thursday's "Drive Time". During the rest of the week, you can find Craig working as an Estate Agent in Thanet or spending time with his wife and children.

Paul started as a roadshow DJ in 1974 (whilst still at school), then progressed to nightclubs & eventually in 1985, began hosting radio shows, eventually becoming the Studio Manager at Southampton Hospital Radio. Paul went on to present shows on a number of RSL stations and presented the weekday late show on Max FM for 3 years. This was followed by 5 years on Cable Radio in Brighton, then 14 years with Swale Sound & SFM. Paul joined Academy FM in mid-2017, presenting the Saturday evening dance and disco show and whilst he continues with this, he now also presents a number of other shows on Academy FM. Paul can often be heard on the mid-morning show.

Theo started his career in the music business in 1966, he won a national contest run by Radio Luxembourg in 1974 & in 1978 joined Polydor records as disco & local radio promotions manager, later becoming a freelancer Notable projects have been, films Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Fame, Flashdance, Footloose & Ghostbusters along with Artists Gloria Gaynor, Level 42, Shakatak, Whitney Houston and many more. Currently, Theo runs line dancing classes across Thanet.

Hi, I’m Nigel. Loving being part of the wonderful Academy FM station! I took early retirement from a career in public service. I am now joint proprietor of CosyCats a boarding Cattery I run with my wife in Sandwich. I’m also a partner in Fordwich River Tours a boat trip operator from Fordwich! I usually do the Drivetime show on Tuesday afternoons as welcome your company. Hope you will be joining me!

Hello, I'm Sally Prior and I've always loved radio, but have only recently had an opportunity to get involved through the 107.8 Academy FM training programme. Which in turn led to my being able to present a regular daytime show. I really enjoy presenting my show and the opportunity it gives me to interact with our listeners. I live in Ramsgate and am passionate about hula hooping. In 2022 I was chosen to hoop as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant. More locally you can catch me at the Ramsgate Carnival Parade. I love to cook and make use of our wonderful local ingredients. I can be quite experimental but most of the time it works. My music tastes are quite eclectic, though I do have a soft spot for 70/80s punk and ska.

Phil is a Presenter who is born and bred in Thanet and a proud Dad to Ben, He has a Grandson and Granddaughter who he dotes on. A great passion for music so jumped at the opportunity to join the team here at Academy Fm. He hosts Daytime shows as as well as an evening show, the Retro years show Monday and Friday afternoons, Tuesday evenings Live and Unleashed and a new show on a Sunday called Sunday Brunch. Loves Motorsport and was a Champion in both Banger racing and Rally cross.

Bernie loves dancing and can often be seen dancing round the studio. She loves singing too but isn't very good at it, or at remembering lyrics, much to the horror of her family. She lives in Ramsgate and presents Thanet Island Sounds on Sundays at 5pm and the Friday Morning Show. Bernie was, until recently, a member of Broadstairs College Board and also chaired the trustees of Margate Bookie. She chairs the board of Ramsgate Heritage Lab CIC, a non-profit which re-purposes heritage buildings for the 21st century. She also gives talks to local groups about her biography of her great-grandmother (The Amazing Life of Cecilia Chattergee) who was one of India's first female lawyers Bernie has three children and five grandchildren and loves being a part of the Academy team.

I live in Birchington with my wife and 2 boys, and have been involved in radio since 1997. I worked for 20-odd years for a radio group now known as Global. I worked on Fox FM, Northants 96, Mercia FM, Leicester Sound, Invicta FM and Heart. I spent sometime away from radio and still run my own mortgage brokerage, and as a hobby I have loved being back involved in radio again at the brilliant Academy FM Thanet. I now present the Friday Drivetime show, playing brilliant tunes and mucking about getting ready for the weekend.

Jon is the presenter of the all 80s on a Wednesday night, and basically a floating Jock, filling in where he can here at Academy. He started spinning the vinyl at the ripe old age of 9 at a youth club on the RAF base at Manston. Ever since then he has had a passion for music. He had always wanted to get into radio but the correct doors never seemed to open. Over the years he has been involved with a couple of community stations with short-term licences and also an Internet-based station doing a Sunday breakfast show. Jon joined Academy in 2015 and has really enjoyed his time here as one of the team.

I was born and bred in Thanet many summers ago and I went to school here and have worked within Thanet most (but not all) of my working life. I am married to Lorna and we have three grown-up children. We live in Westbrook and have done for nearly 25 years. I love sport and music so volunteering for the Academy FM Sport show on a Wednesday night is an ideal hobby for me. I try to keep active with Five-a-side football, Walking Football and local Parkruns at Palm Bay and Pegwell Bay. I am a qualified football referee and enjoy being in the middle for games of all ages from youth U9’s to Veterans football and the over 40’s. My dream is to score a goal at Wembley Stadium one day!!

I left school at the ripe old age of fifteen to become an apprentice cabinet maker, then signed up to join, HMS Worcester, I have also worked in the building industry, had over thirteen years in financial Services, and finished my working life as a facilities manager. But my first experience as a DJ came along just two years after leaving school when I was invited to do the music at a garden party for The Canterbury Wine Circle. Music then became a great part of my life. In the early seventies I built and launched the hospital radio service at Kent and Canterbury Hospital and then went on to manage it for the next thirteen years. At the end of the eighties I joined the Radio Invicta Appeal and later moved on to be part of their outside broadcast team. During this time I was involved in the launch of Mellow 1557 Radio station in Frinton-on-sea. It was during my time at hospital Radio and Invicta Radio that I became friends with some of my fellow presenters here at Academy FM. Throughout the noughties I worked with a local video roadshow. During my career as a DJ /Radio Presenter I have interviewed many people from all walks of life including Terry Waite, Berni Flint, and M.P. Edward Heath M.B.E. As you can tell Radio presenting has been a big part of my life and I am now happy to be part of the team here at Academy Fm

“Born & raised in Thanet, I'm new to the world of radio and excited to join the Academy FM team. If you asked me to describe my favourite genre of music, I'd say anything cheesy, and definitely anything by the VengaBoys. Outside of radio I work in marketing and spend my days producing video content for social media, which I really enjoy. Away from work, my favourite thing in the world is F1, and I'd talk about it all day if I could. I'm on every Thursday night from 9pm where I’ll be playing noughties hits.”

A day spent with the Beatles in 1963 led to music dominating David’s private life. In the 70’s he ran an acoustic music club in London for 6 years, during which time he also developed the careers of several singer-songwriters. He also helped to run the Cambridge Folk Festival for a while, also the 3-day Slough Arts Festival Folk Competition. He co-hosted a late-night Folk Show on Capital Radio and has since broadcast on a variety of radio stations, including Radio Clyde (Glasgow), Mercia Sound (Coventry), Radio Solent (Southampton), BBC Radio Kent, Invicta Radio and regularly on Singapore's Radio 1. He has been self-employed as a business trainer and coach since 1992, work which has taken him to over 30 countries. Back in Thanet and currently President of BETA, the Broadstairs Ex (Round) Tablers Association. He also supports a number of community projects alongside his continuing coaching and mentoring projects.

Jeremy runs his own successful web design business in Thanet and East Kent. His background is in International Telecommunications Management, he has over twenty years of experience as a senior manager with both Siemens and Ericsson. Jeremy has a degree in Psychology from the University of Reading and is the author of Making Happiness a Habit, a self-help guide aimed at promoting individual happiness.

I ran a bicycle messenger company in London in the 1980s, travelled around the world for a year in my late 30s, then had a shop selling eclectic interior accessories for 10 years. Plus a bit of doing the wheel of fortune at Butlins. All obviously leading to my true vocation - being on the radio! Claim to fame - I once appeared on Top of the Pops!

Phil Dilley and Dangerous Dave are relatively new to radio presenting but have a great passion for entertaining. Phil was born and bred from the island and has a great passion for music. Dave is originally from Hythe but now resides in Thanet as well and his passion is painting and art.

Barry ‘The Barber’ Gardner has long been the voice of sport in these parts. He was Johnny Lewis’s sidekick at the former station TLR (Thanet Local Radio), and he joined the team at Academy FM when it launched in 2010. These days he is the Sports reporter on Paul Rutters Saturday Breakfast Show. He sold his Barry’s Barber Shop business in Northdown Road Cliftonville and retired in 2018 after 58 years of barbering. Sport has been an abiding interest for Barry, though he also spent four years with Ramsgate Operatic Society in his teens. He also played amateur football and cricket, and has been a Margate FC supporter ever since his dad first took him to see them play in the mid-1950s. Barry has been a cricket umpire and secretary of Cliftonville Cricket Club, as well as manager of Thanet under-17 and under-19 teams.

Horace was born in Dartford and moved to Broadstairs in 1974. Horace left school and became a butcher working for his Dad in the Margate shop and that was a fantastic platform to try out his jokes and gain some confidence. Many of the customers said they only came into the shop for the abuse and comedy, shopping was the sideline. Horace was involved with Hit FM and the birth of TLR which is now known as KMFM. Horace's palace of fun is on our airwaves, Academy FM on Sunday from 1pm.