Schedule changes for XS Manchester as four presenters leave

Gareth Brooks, Hywel Evans, Shell Zenner and Jack Wood have left XS Manchester as the station introduces more nonstop music sequences.

Breakfast presenter Alex James stays with the station and will host 7am till 11am, whilst current evening host Jam Salveson will be on-air from 4pm till 8pm.

Gareth hosted daytimes whilst Hywel, who joined the station eight months ago, did Drive. Shell Zenner and Jack Wood hosted weekend shows.

The station’s owner, Communicorp, or CCUK, confirmed the news to RadioToday after the Manchester Evening News revealed the changes, saying fans have been left “in a spin”.

A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that scheduling changes on XS Manchester will come into place from Monday 5th August.

“Breakfast with Alex James will run weekdays, 7am to 11am, and from 11am to 4pm, the Soundtrack to the City continues with more music for Manchester.

“Jim Salveson will be on air from 4pm to 8pm, Monday to Thursday, featuring new music after 6pm.

“Friday nights will see Gareth Brooks celebrate the weekend with XS Manchester Anthems from 4pm.”

The station started life as Rock Radio in 2008, and was rebranded to Real XS, then XS Manchester. It applied to change its format in 2019 to become Capital Xtra but permission was refused in 2020.

Under new broadcasting legislation coming into force next year, the station will be able to ‘flip’ format to any music or speech genre without seeking permission.

Last show on xs today. Truth is @mrgarethbrooks and I are off to pursue our dream of alpaca racing.
I want to thank every person who’s listened for the last few months. @deanmnc and @R3DLFC especially. Thanks to team xs and @therealboon for inspiration and support x

— Hywel Evans (@hywelesq) August 2, 2024

2018-2024, thanks for 6 awesome years @XSManchester pic.twitter.com/y06SllkQ0T

— Shell Zenner (@shellzenner) August 2, 2024