Greatest Hits Radio (Dorset)

Greatest Hits Radio Dorset is the service previously known as Wessex FM. It carries Bauer's classic-hits programme for its Dorset audience, linking a county radio identity with the larger Greatest Hits Radio network.

The selection looks to the seventies, eighties and nineties, with familiar songs providing the basis of the programme. It spans popular styles rather than treating one musical genre as the only sound of the station. Presented shows combine those recordings with entertainment and conversation.

Ken Bruce gives the network day a recognisable landmark through PopMaster, with Golden Years, guests and less obvious records elsewhere in his programme. Zoe Ball in the Afternoon adds Lunchtime Anthem requests and the 54321 quiz, while Simon Mayo's drivetime programme includes Confessions. These are shared Greatest Hits Radio shows carried by the Dorset edition, complementing its regional identity.

Weekend listening takes a more selective musical turn. Jenny Powell's Mixtape gathers songs from the station's three main decades, and Des Paul's Rhythm Of The Night follows soul, funk and disco. Stephanie Hirst's Spinnin' The Decades adds records from her own vinyl collection, including an hour shaped by audience requests and played from original 45s.

Its West Dorset reporting adds a different perspective to the music. Coverage has examined plans to protect Lyme Regis Cobb, disruption to Weymouth bus routes and development of the Wessex devolution proposals. These subjects connect coastal infrastructure, transport and local government with the towns served by the former Wessex FM, giving the edition a county news context alongside the shared entertainment.