Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio 1, including a five-year stint on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. From 2001 he presented on BBC Radio 5 Live: from his debut until 2009 on a daily afternoon programme, and since then until 2022 with Kermode and Mayo's Film Review on Fridays. Between January 2010 to December 2018 he was the presenter of Simon Mayo Drivetime on BBC Radio 2, for the final six months with co-host Jo Whiley. Since March 2021, Simon Mayo Drivetime has returned on Greatest Hits Radio. In 2008, Mayo was recognised as the "Radio Broadcaster of the Year" at the 34th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, and the "Speech Broadcaster of the Year" at the Sony Radio Academy Awards, receiving the latter for his "ability to paint colourful pictures of location and event and his ability to bring the very best out of his guests, encouraging conversation and interaction between them while skilfully nudging and controlling them" and for being "a master of light and shade, handling serious and lighter issues with aplomb." Mayo is also a published author. His works include a book titled Confessions, based on the Confessions slot from his radio shows, and several fictional thrillers. Early life Mayo's parents, Derek Mayo (1929–2001) and Jill, were both schoolteachers. He attended St John's Primary School in Croydon, Surrey, the Arden School in Knowle (for one term), the independent Solihull School (where his nickname, according to a newspaper profile in 2008, was "Heinz", after the salad cream brand) and Worthing High School for Boys in West Sussex which was then a state grammar school for boys. He graduated from the University of Warwick in 1981, with a degree in History and Politics. Early career His mother had undertaken part-time work in radio, and having occasionally experienced it with her, Mayo had wanted to work as a studio manager. But as a result of a frequency deficiency in his left ear, he failed the required hearing test, and refocused his career on presenting. Mayo spent some time honing his skills at Southlands Hospital Radio, and then worked for five years as a presenter with BBC Radio Nottingham from 10:45am to 2pm, followed