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´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby is 40 years old this year and as part of the celebrations to mark the occasion the station is opening its doors to the public on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 May.

It is a rare opportunity to see behind the scenes of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s headquarters in Derby and meet some of the presenters and other familiar voices that appear on-air.

As well as being the home of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby, the studios contain the ´óÏó´«Ã½ East Midlands Today TV bureau for Derbyshire, the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Derby website and the Derby ´óÏó´«Ã½ Big Screen operation.

Visitors will have the opportunity to take a look around the on-air studios, the newsroom, see the equipment used to broadcast when the presenters are out and about and also how the programmes are put together.

There will also be the chance to get information about other parts of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ plus expert advice on the digital TV switchover which takes place for Derbyshire in August this year.

Simon Cornes, Editor, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby says: "Thousands of people drive past our building every day – we know many of them hear our programmes, but very few will have seen how we do it. To mark this milestone in our history we thought it would be nice to put that right!"

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby broadcasts across Derbyshire and East Staffordshire. It is also the current Sony Radio Academy Station of the Year.

Visitors can discover what it takes to run a radio station and hear a little bit of its history – including why it had to go on air early in 1971 from a temporary studio in Sutton Coldfield.

The timed tours (advance bookings only) take place between 10am and 5pm on Saturday 7 May and Sunday 8 May.

To reserve places please call 01332 361111 between 9am and 5pm. Places are free, limited to five per person, and are allocated on a first come first served basis.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby broadcasts on 104.5, 95.3, 96FM, 1116AM and online via the ´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer.

BG