Breakfast Radio and Beyond: Celebrating Ste Greenall’s Remarkable Journey

Ste Greenall has presented Black Cat Radio’s “Full English Breakfast Show” since the station’s FM launch. It’s a fast paced, LIVE, two-hour mix of music, news, weather, and travel, but daily chats are now an integral part of the programme. On 8th May 2025, Ste presented his 2,000th weekday breakfast show – in just over 8 years. In that time, he had missed only 103 days. He's done over 2,250. 

The interview content gives the show it’s true LOCAL feel, but that’s not limited to news stories. He continues to champion the cause of local musicians. No fewer than 15 different performers set their alarm clocks to perform live with Ste in 2025.

The show is prepared, researched, presented, and produced by him and promoted on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There are now over 2,400 members of a Facebook group, many of whom engage with him whilst the show is on air. He has built an extensive network of contacts from a huge number of groups and rarely needs to chase up for a guest. Nowadays, he is contacted and asked, “can I come on?”

Five- minute edit from the 2,000^th show: 

• Introduction by him, out of the 7.00 am news bulletin, with jingles. And a reference to a “break in” in the studio. It was actually a pre-planned arrival the evening before by twelve loyal listeners who decorated the studio with balloons and photographs of many of the guests who have appeared on the show. Years ago, Ste played a song by the band Blancmange, and asked on air if anyone still bought blancmange. One listener, Tracy, made one for him and brought it to the studio, so she did the same to celebrate the 2,000^th show.
• Introduction to a song and then the Business News.
• Ste took a call from a listener called Ted, seeking for help. His friend Bob who lost his wife Gloria in 2015, was distraught. A memorial shelter with bench and loving inscriptions, built at a cost of £25,000 by Bob himself, had been vandalised. All the plants and flowers upturned and destroyed. Beer cans and stubs strewn around. Ted asked Ste if he could help. His words were. “People in this town take notice of what you say”. Ste re-broadcast a part of his chat with Bob, as an example of community engagement.
• Henry Priestman from 1980’s band the Christians, phoned in (arranged by the listeners)
• Newspaper review
• Tribute by former guest, musician Pete Robbins, who Ste persuaded to become a presenter on the station
• Fellow presenter Steve Cross contributes a daily “Fact of the Day” which is linked to music and Ste gets the listeners to help him choose a track.
• Ste name-checks his wife – usually at home but brought to the studio by two listeners to surprise Ste.
• Amid all the frivolity, Ste gets serious to play a chat he’d done with 98 year old Sally to mark VE Day.

Regular guests come on to talk with Ste: -

• The local MP, Ian Sollom, is a regular on the show
• Farming matters
• The National Gardens Scheme
• Town and District Councillors
• Voluntary groups from the town and surrounding villages
• Mental health initiatives

Finally, when Joan Cosson, a care home resident with no relatives, was approaching 100 years old, Ste launched an appeal to collect cards for her. Through the power of the airwaves, people from St Neots, as well as people in Doncaster, and even Florida, sent Joan a birthday card for her centenarian birthday.

It is easiest to summarise some of Ste Greenall’s voluntary contributions to Black Cat Radio by numbers: -

• Ste Greenall has been with Black Cat Radio for over fifteen years.
• As a member of the station’s Sales Team, Ste has been responsible for almost £74,000 of income.
• Ste has been Company Secretary for over 9 years and a director for almost 8 years.
• Ste has presented over 2,250 weekday breakfast shows in just over nine years.
• Ste has presented almost two hundred other shows of various kinds.
• Private fund-raising events which Ste has run, over the years, have raised over £4,000.
• Ste believes he spends an average of twenty-five unpaid hours per week.

On behalf of the Board, Ste consults with insurance brokers, OFCOM, PRS, the bank, the landlord, a number of key advertisers, as well as hundreds of guests who take part in the shows he presents. It is fair to say there are few aspects of the station’s day to day running which Ste is not involved with. He is far more than a radio presenter.

Ste is passionate about community radio and the community radio awards, having had nominations in a variety of categories since 2021, winning bronze silver and gold awards along the way, and he co-hosted the 2024 Community Radio awards ceremony.

Directors

Ste is one of four directors of Black Cat Radio. In addition to internally reporting to the Board, he is responsible for the submission of returns to OFCOM, PRS, HMRC and Companies House. He reconciles the station’s bank accounts on a weekly basis, and reports to the board on all aspects of financial matters.

Broadcasting

In additional to the station’s flagship weekday breakfast show, Ste also presents the weekday magazine programme, Your Voice, on Fridays. He has covered for a number of other shows during holiday periods. During that time, he has covered eight different shows.

Ste has a Facebook following of over 2,400 people and his “Full English Breakfast Show” is filling in the spaces in quality local radio which independent and BBC local radio has abandoned. At the time of writing, Ste has presented a lively weekday breakfast show on 2,044 days, missing only 105 days in over eight years. His commitment to this show is, we feel, unique. Ste has been Black Cat Radio's weekday breakfast show presenter for longer than anyone on the BBC Radio One flagship show.

He has welcomed over five hundred different guests from the community, including the MP for the town, town and district councillors, voluntary groups from the town and surrounding villages as well as a vast number of mental and physical health initiatives.

Ste has been at the forefront of raising over £6,000 for homeless charities.

Marketing

Ste creates written and verbal material for the station’s website.

There is a popular phrase which goes “Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless.” This is true of Ste. He is at the heart of the group of volunteers, and we are delighted to nominate him for this award.

Black Cat Radio Team

Five of the current team of presenters were “recruited” by Ste after having been guests on his breakfast show. Ste’s enthusiasm for community radio shines through and has inspired this.

Commitment and Passion

Ste’s weekday alarm goes off at 5.45am and he has a thirty-minute drive the Black Cat Radio’s studios in St Neots. His commitment is marked by how few shows he has “missed” since becoming the prime voice at breakfast time. Missing only 105 days in over eight years puts paid professionals to shame.

As the occasion of Ste’s 2,000^th breakfast show approached, a small audience of listeners bandied together to mark the occasion. The studio was decorated ahead of his arrival and a vast number of surprise guests turned up. 

Ste leads by example. As a broadcaster, he inspires the team and engages our community. As an administrator, his diligence and accuracy serve the station superbly. We are delighted to put Ste forward for this award.

He has earned a huge profile in the community and is called upon to not only draft articles for the local “Hunts Post” newspaper but giving talks to community groups like Rotary, Round Table and - to date - eight women’s institute groups.

Over to Ste for some final words:

"Volunteering is simply awesome and my time at Black Cat Radio is challenging, rewarding and fulfilling "

Many thanks to Ste!