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Listeners to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Solent will be treated to a new sound at weekends, as an old favourite returns and a new presenter joins the station.

Fresh from his Christmas Solent successes, Richard Cartridge will be returning to a regular slot on the station. In February he will take over the Sunday Afternoon Show, from 2-5pm, as current presenter and journalist Mike Powell takes on more responsibility in the Solent news room.

In particular, Mike will present the daily extended lunchtime news and the afternoon bulletins five days a week.

A new show and a new voice will grace Saturday mornings as Sasha Twining joins the station to present the Saturday Brunch, 8-11am from 5 February.

Sasha's appointment follows Sally Taylor's decision last year to take a break from her Saturday morning show to enjoy a weekend lie-in. Sally remains part of Solent and the station hopes to tempt her back on air again soon.

Some listeners may recognise Sasha as a news presenter on Sky, as a correspondent for ITV, or from her days as a ´óÏó´«Ã½ One continuity announcer. But her roots are in radio – she started on an after-school station at age 14 and has been working ever since on both ´óÏó´«Ã½ and commercial station such as LBC, Talk Sport and Magic. She has also covered Radio Solent's drive time programme.

Announcing the new line-up, Solent Managing Editor Chris Carnegy commented: "Sasha and Richard are two very welcome additions to our weekend line-up. Sasha was a big success when she hosted shows for us in 2009 and this is just the right chance to get her back.

"She combines a wealth of experience with a warm, friendly style that'll be just the right wake-up call for the weekend. Also it's over a year since Richard came back to his 'spiritual home' at Solent and a relaxing Sunday afternoon will be even more of a pleasure with his warmth and humour."

Thanking Sally, Chris added: "I also want to say a big thank you to Sally for the stylish and entertaining sound she's brought to Saturday mornings and I'm confident we'll hear her back on Solent soon.

"Last year, Sally felt it was time to reclaim her weekends and we agreed that she'd do so from this Spring, but rest assured she'll still be working hard all week to keep viewers of South Today up to date with the news across the South."

Saturday Brunch starts on Saturday 5 February, from 8-11am, and the Richard Cartridge Afternoon Show launches later in the month from 2-5pm on Radio Solent.

The Big Dorset Brunch continues on the 103.8FM frequency for our West Dorset listeners.

HD