The BBC has turned to a former executive with a background in news and sport to run Radio 2, Britain's biggest music station.
The appointment yesterday of Bob Shennan as controller of Radio 2 and its sister station, BBC6 Music, surprised some insiders, who pointed out that he has no music industry experience, although he is said to be good at "managing talent".
BBC bosses are said to regard Shennan as a safe pair of hands who will restore morale at the station after the "Sachsgate" affair, which led to the resignation of his predecessor, Lesley Douglas, and several fellow executives in October last year.
"Radio 2 is the cornerstone of UK radio," Shennan said yesterday. "6 Music is at the forefront of digital radio." He said it was a "privilege" to get the job, which he will start next week.
Shennan ran Radio Five Live for eight years before leaving to take charge of Channel 4's ill-fated radio venture 4 Digital last year, and is a former head of sport at the corporation.
One of Shennan's former colleagues said his two teenage children helped keep him up to catch with new music trends but added that, in common with many middle-aged men, he had fairly mainstream taste. That may not count against him at Radio 2.
One of Shennan's first jobs will to be build relationships with the presenters who have played a huge part in its renaissance, including Jonathan Ross, Chris Evans and Terry Wogan. Most of them were hired by Douglas and had a close relationship with their former boss.
Evans, who referred to Douglas affectionately as "the Dame", was close to tears when she stepped down last year. Ross returned to his Radio 2 show last week after serving a three-month suspension.
The corporation's head of radio, Tim Davie, who has been in the job less than a year, will be hoping Shennan can build on the success of his predecessor, who remade Radio 2 by hiring big names and introducing a playlist with more popular appeal, transforming it from a sleepy backwater peopled by DJs whose best years were behind them into the country's biggest station by some distance. In the third quarter of 2008, Radio 2's audience stood at 13.06 million, according to the latest figures from industry body Rajar, giving it a 16% share of the total radio audience.
Shennan may face tough decisions in the next few years, particularly if Wogan decides to hang up his headphones. More than 7.7 million people regularly tune in to his show.
Shennan may also overhaul 6 Music, which has just 550,000 listeners.
During his time at Radio Five Live, Shennan increased audiences, which peaked at 7 million shortly before he left at the beginning of last year. Critics claimed he introduced too many phone-ins at the expense of hard news, aping techniques used by commercial radio. The channel's male audience also won it the nickname "bloke radio".
The BBC have announced the appointment of Bob Shennan as controller for BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music. Shennan was previously controller at news and sports station BBC Radio Five Live and head of Channel 4's abortive 4 Digital Group radio venture. Channel 4 had won a licence to launch three digital radio stations but dropped the plans at an advanced stage in the face of the economic downturn.

At Five Live Shennan increased listening figures to 7 million. Critics claimed that this was achieved through the introduction of phone-in shows and a decline in coverage of harder news. He also launched the part-time digital-only station BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra.

The BBC's director of Audio and Music told ''The Stage'' that Shennan is "an outstanding leader with extensive radio experience and a proven track record in station management". He said that "Bob's energy, enthusiasm and passion for Radio 2 will ensure that the station remains creative and vibrant, and continues to offer unique programmes to the widest possible audience".

Radio 2 is Britain's most popular radio station with 13.06 million listeners and a 16% share. 6 Music is the network's digital-only sister station. The post of controller became vacant last year when Lesley Douglas resigned following the scandal over crude phone calls made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross to actor Andrew Sachs during a pre-recorded music programme.