BBC Radio 3 announces new broadcasting star

Fern Riddell, a PhD student in the Department of History, has been selected to take part in BBC Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers scheme for 2013. The scheme, run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), gives 10 academics the opportunity to become regular contributors to BBC Radio 3, with additional opportunities to develop their ideas into television programmes with BBC Television Arts, making a short taster film to be shown on www.bbc.co.uk/arts. A cultural historian specialising in entertainment, sex, and the working class in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, Fern has been selected from hundreds of applicants to become one of Radio 3's resident academic contributors for the year. New Generation Thinkers was set up in 2010 and aims to find tomorrow's research communicators and to uncover academics from across the country who have a flair for broadcasting. Fern has already provided academic expert comment for BBC Coast , ITV and BBC Radio 3 and is excited about this new opportunity to expand her broadcasting skills. Fern said: 'I was drawn to the scheme because of Radio 3's commitment to providing highly stimulating and intellectual programmes for its listeners. The chance to explore history in the detail needed for radio, while making sure it is still accessible for everyone who is listening, is really exciting.