SOLENT regional radio station Original 106 FM has hired TV and radio star Tommy Boyd to host its weekday Breakfast Show and broadcaster Richard Skinner joins the station as mid-morning presenter.

John Evington said: "With two broadcasters of such high calibre joining the station I am confident that people will be intrigued to listen to their shows."

Tommy has been a household name for more than 30 years establishing his broadcasting career as presenter of children's TV show Magpie in the 1970's later anchoring ITV's highly successful Wide Awake Club before moving into radio in 1995 at Talk Radio's inception. He subsequently worked for BBC Radio 5 Live and LBC before re-joining Talk Radio when it was re-launched as talkSPORT in 2000.

Richard's career in radio spans three decades having presented programmes such as the Top 40, Roundtable, The Evening Rock Show, Saturday Sequence and Rock On for Radio 1, Capital Radio and GLR. Richard also worked for Virgin Radio as its first ever programme director when the station launched in 1993.

Richard is also no stranger to TV and was a regular presenter of Whistle Test and Top of the Pops. He is also the man who broke the news to Paul McCartney that fellow Beatle John Lennon had been shot dead in New York.

Original 106FM managing director John Evington said: "Richard and Tommy are two of the most experienced and respected presenters in British radio. I've been a big fan of Tommy's unique style of broadcasting for years and I know he'll be a hit with our audience, and Richard has remained at the top of his game for over 30 years presenting on national radio and TV. We are delighted to have him on board."