The Official Chart is a long-running United Kingdom music chart programme, airing each Friday afternoon on BBC Radio 1 and on MTV Music, MTV Hits. It airs the UK Singles Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company, and is currently hosted by Scott Mills. In March 2015 it was announced that The Official Chart would move from its traditional Sunday slot to Friday afternoons from July 2015. This was to coincide with the global change in new music release dates from Sundays to Fridays. The chart airs between 16:00 and 17:45.
History
Pick of the Pops, as the chart was originally known, transferred to Radio One from the BBC Light Programme in October 1967, along with host Alan Freeman. Tom Browne took over in 1972 with Solid Gold Sixty. This consisted of two hours featuring Radio One playlist tracks which were not in the Top 20, followed by a one-hour Top 20 rundown. Starting from March 1974, the playlist tracks were incorporated into Paul Burnett's 'All There Is To Hear', and the Tom Browne show was reduced to just the Top 20 for one hour at 18:00. In April 1978, Simon Bates took over as presenter. From May 1978, Radio One had started promoting the Top 40 instead of the Top 30 in its Tuesday chart countdowns and daytime programming caused by the Top 50 being increased to the BBC Top 75 that month, and from November 1978 the Sunday chart show was extended to a two-hour countdown of the entire top 40. At first, every record was played, but as there was insufficient time to play the whole of each record, during the 1980s some songs dropping in the chart were excluded. Tony Blackburn, who had been removed from weekday programming, hosted the show from 1979 to 1982. From 6 January 1991, every song in the top 40 was played and in March 1992 the programme was extended to three hours to allow for each song again to be played in full. The programme now ran from 4pm until 7pm. Since then the show has had a variety of different names and presenters in guest and permanent roles. The programme has run consistently every week, with the exception of 31 August 1997, when it was cancelled as Radio 1 suspended programming due to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The show was also sometimes shortened during coverage of BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. Due to coverage of Gregathlon for Sport Relief 2016, the show on 12 February 2016 was presented by Scott Mills at the earlier time of 2 to 4pm.
Recent format
In recent years the show has reflected changes in the music industry. In 2005 downloads began to be included as part of the top 40, and from July 2014 the show has also included audio streaming alongside physical sales. Between February 2012 and August 2014 the show also began to stream visually with music videos of the top 10 singles aired simultaneously on the Radio 1 website. On 24 March 2015, it was announced that in July 2015 the show would be moving from a standalone show in its traditional Sunday night slot to a new position on Friday afternoons as part of Greg James' afternoon show. The move is due to an international agreement by the music industry to release all new albums and singles on Fridays. The new chart played the top 25 in full rather than the top 40 that had previously been broadcast. It also means that Clara Amfo has become the shortest-serving permanent host of the show. As of 17 February 2017, the top 40 are played, however only the new entries and highest climbers, but the top 10 is still played in full after 5 o’clock. The Sunday night slot has been replaced with a new show hosted by Cel Spellman and Katie Thistleton.
Presenters
The names in italics indicates a co-host for the show.
The Official Chart Update
Beginning on 10 March 2010, The Official Chart Update brand was launched giving an insight into the Official Singles Chart as it stands during the week. It originally aired on BBC Radio 1 on Wednesday afternoons hosted by Greg James, with a television version aired on MTV Music and MTV Hits. In 2012 Scott Mills took over as host of The Official Chart Update with Jameela Jamil as co-host. Clara Amfo became the co-host of the show after Jamil left the show in early 2015. In mid-2015, Mills and Amfo left the show and James once again became the primary host of the show. Throughout the show's run Dev, Huw Stephens, and Matt Edmondson have filled in as cover presenters. When the Official Chart moved to Fridays in July 2015, The Official Chart Update moved from Wednesdays to Mondays at 17:30 until 8 July 2019. The show was then replaced by The Official Chart: First Look.
Presenters
The Official Chart: First Look
The Official Chart: First Look is the show which provides the update on how the chart looks over the weekend. The show is on air during the historic Sunday slot but for one hour only, which is 6:00 - 7:00 pm, and hosted by Cel Spellman and Katie Thistleton. It replaces The Official Chart Update that was on air every Monday at 5:30 - 5:45 pm. It gives the fastest aggregated picture of the new week’s biggest hits for the UK, reflecting popularity across the full spectrum of the Official Charts' sales and streams panel - including all of the UK’s key download and streaming services, including Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, Google and many more. The show was launched on 14 July 2019. It focuses on the Top 20 biggest tracks from data collected on Friday and Saturday, with the Top 10 played in full.
