Simon Mayo, presenter of BBC 5 Live  The 5 Live presenter triumphed in the category despite Radio 4 being named station of the year. On a night of triumph for the BBC, judges said the station had “all the hallmarks of a network at the top of its game” and consistently delivered “a high quality product with style and confidence”.  They added: “It moves with ease between news, culture and entertainment without losing its shape and overall sense of editorial purpose.”  Radio 4’s Saturday Live, hosted by Fi Glover, won the speech programme award.  The station also won the drama award for Q & A, which tells the story of a street urchin in India who wins a billion rupees on a TV show, and the comedy award for its spoof radio phone-in Down the Line.  The battle of the breakfast shows was won by Chris Moyles’s Radio 1 programme, while Radio 2’s Russell Brand Show triumphed in the entertainment category.  Other BBC winners, chosen by a panel of industry figures, included Radio 2’s Jonathan Ross, who was named music radio personality of the year, ahead of Radio 1’s Zane Lowe and Heart’s Jamie Theakston.  Planet Rock, which is in the process of being sold by GCap, beat off competition from the BBC Asian network and Gaydar Radio in the digital station category.  In a show of confidence for its producers, judges described it as “a station with extraordinary passion, knowledge, surprise and depth”.  A special award was presented to Jenny Abramsky, the outgoing director of audio and music at the BBC, who is stepping down to become chairman of the Heritage Lottery Fund.  The judges said that during her 40 years in radio she has “stamped her very distinctive imprint on the industry”.  Brian Matthew, 79, the veteran broadcaster who has been presenting the Sounds of the 60s on Radio 2 since 1990, received a gold award.  Judges said that the accolade was a celebration of “an impressive record of more than 50 years of national and international broadcasting”.
Simon Mayo, the former Radio 1 disc jockey, has beaten the Radio 4’s Today    programme presenters John Humphrys and James Naughtie to the title of speech    broadcaster of the year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards.