Comedian/actor Nick Mohammed will be one of the presenters for the upcoming Proms season.
Mohammed, best known for his work in comedy and acting, is also a keen violinist and will present The Planets and Star Wars Prom with the National Youth Orchestra on BBC Two.
Renowned trumpeter Alison Balsom and BBC Radio 1’s Greg James will also make their presenting debuts at the BBC Proms this summer, alongside Claudia Winkleman who also makes her debut with the Traitors Prom.
Greg James, alongside Sian Eleri and Elizabeth Alker, will co-host the radio coverage of the JADE Prom at the Glasshouse International Centre of Music in Gateshead on Friday 25 July. The Prom will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and on BBC Radio 1’s Chillest Show at 8pm on Sunday 27 July. The Prom will also be broadcast on BBC Two at a later date.
Alison Balsom, a soloist at this year’s Last Night of the Proms, makes her Proms presenting debut on BBC television with three Proms: Mahler’s Fifth Symphony with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Klaus Mäkelä; Dvořák’s New World Symphony with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, joined by percussionists from the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company and In Harmony Liverpool, conducted by Domingo Hindoyan; and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Danish National Concert Choir, conducted by Fabio Luisi. All three will be broadcast on BBC Four.
The BBC will broadcast 25 programmes across BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and CBeebies, and then available on BBC iPlayer for 12 months. For the fifteenth year running, the Last Night of the Proms will be hosted by Katie Derham, and this year’s TV presenting team also includes Alison Balsom, Edith Bowman, Andi Oliver, Clara Amfo, Clive Myrie, Georgia Mann, Anita Rani, Linton Stephens, Petroc Trelawny and Tom Service.
The festival opens on Friday 18 July with Petroc Trelawny and Georgia Mann presenting the First Night of the Proms, broadcast that same evening on BBC Two. Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus, with tenor Caspar Singh, baritone Gerald Finley and violinist Lisa Batiashvili – including the world premiere of The Elements by Master of the King’s Music Errollyn Wallen, commissioned by the BBC.
Every Prom will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds. This year’s BBC Radio 3 presenting team are Elizabeth Alker, Jumoke Fashola, Hannah French, Penny Gore, Martin Handley, Alexandra Humphreys, Soweto Kinch, Lopa Kothari, Georgia Mann, Andrew McGregor, Sara Mohr-Pietsch, Katie Derham, Ian Skelly, Linton Stephens, Verity Sharp, Tom McKinney, Tom Service, Petroc Trelawny and Sarah Walker.
Other BBC networks will feature Proms: BBC Radio 1 will broadcast JADE at the Glasshouse on Sunday 27 July at 8pm, BBC Radio 2 will broadcast the Soul Revolution Prom on 17 August at 8pm and The Traitors Prom on 24 August at 8pm, BBC Radio 4 will broadcast a version of the Shipping Forecast Prom on Sunday 24 August at 5pm and BBC 6Music will broadcast the St. Vincent Prom at a later date.
BBC Radio 3 Unwind will feature Peaceful Proms Mornings every Friday during the season, with Proms-themed Mindful Mixes from 6-9am.
Suzy Klein, Head of BBC Arts and Classical Music TV, says “This summer BBC TV audiences will be able to enjoy 25 Proms programmes with nine of them broadcast on BBC One and Two, bringing the excellence and range of this great music festival to the widest possible audience. Last year, the Proms reached nearly 13 million viewers and the Last Night was nominated for a Bafta for best live coverage. This season promises to be just as brilliant and wide-ranging, from Aurora Orchestra performing Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony by heart and Klaus Mäkelä conducting Mahler’s Fifth, to Great British Classics, Soul Revolution and The Traitors Prom. As ever, our TV presenting team brings their knowledge and passion to the Proms and this year, we welcome Alison Balsom, Nick Mohammed and Claudia Winkleman to the fold for what promises to be another spectacular season.”
Alison Balsom said: “Presenting the BBC Proms is a genuine honour. There’s nothing quite like feeling the energy of the Royal Albert Hall as a performer, and now having the chance to share that magic as a presenter and bring it to TV audiences at home is an enormous privilege.”
Greg James said: “Taking JADE back to the glorious North East is a real treat. She’s had an incredible start to her solo career so to celebrate it with her very own Prom will be very special.”