Edith Bowman speaks to the Mirror as the BBC launches three brand-new digital music radio stations on DAB+
Edith Bowman is one of the DJS a the helm of BBC radio’s latest venture – over two decades since she first started at the corporation.
This Friday the BBC launches its first ever DAB+ music stations. The three new station extensions from Radio 1 and Radio 3 are the first to be added to the BBC’s music portfolio since 2002 – when the BBC launched 6 Music, 1Xtra and Asian Network.
Edith’s show is one of the beloved BBC Radio 3 series getting a spotlight on the new stations. “It’s so exciting. I mean, I’ve been doing the show Cinematic Soundtracks on BBC Sounds for a while,” says Edith. “I can’t even remember when it started, to be honest. It feels like it’s part of the furniture.
“But, you know there’s always been this desire for it being a ‘proper’ radio station and finally from 12th of September we’re going to be available on DAB… which means that my mum can listen to it in the car, which is great!
“It’s a perfect show for a long car drive. Sometimes you need that calming influence, I think, when you’re on the road, just, you know, whether you you’ve got that kind of beautiful vista out the windows or whether you’re stuck in traffic, sometimes you might need just someone to help you kind of, I don’t know, approach it with a bit more meditation in a way.
“The whole idea behind Unwind is to encourage us all to take life with a bit more of a slower pace and exhale and just take a bit of time for ourselves and I love doing that through music, film and TV. We could all do with more unwind in our lives at the moment couldn’t we?”
Edith’s career on radio has taken many turns and guises since she first started on BBC Radio 1 presenting the afternoon slot weekday slots with Colin Murray.
“It’s so bonkers to think of me being a kid up in my little fishing village in Scotland and listening to the radio and going to watch films and now they very much inform such a big part of my life, my professional life,” says Edith.
As she reflects on her broadcasting career so far, Edith says it’s in her nature to keep wondering what’s next.
“I’m always kind of thinking about what are the other things that I can be doing. When one thing’s finished then it leads to another thing with a bit of patience another door opens. I’ve been very lucky,” says Edith.
Despite being the voice of her own Unwind series, Edith admits she’s no expert when it comes to letting go and shutting off. “I’m not very good at unwinding at all actually! My other half, my kids and the rest of my family and my mates will tell you I am not very good at doing nothing.
“So weirdly, what’s been really good for me is having a dog. We have River who’s just turned five. My favourite thing now is in the morning the kids get on the school bus at like half seven and then River and I will just go for a walk and I’m not on my phone. I’m just in nature. We moved out of London just before lockdown and so I’m surrounded by trees and a common and I just really love standing still and looking around.
“For me unwinding is not being in a rush to be anywhere and just taking a minute for yourself. And so going on a dog walk on my own actually, selfishly!, and just enjoying being out in nature has been a real gift, to be honest.
“Phones are so addictive and I do so much work stuff on my phone. I’d be lost without it, but it’s really, really healthy to find those times where you can leave it in another room or leave it behind because the temptation is then kind of removed. So I’m finding more and more I’m trying to really do that.”
Edith says her Unwinds Cinematic Soundtracks show was born out of the idea of taking her already popular film podcast to the next level.
“We are slightly restricted in that we can’t really play music on the podcast and Cinematic soundtracks was just this opportunity to really celebrate a lot of the music that I talk about on my podcast. I get really involved in curating it, so we’ve got a great team. Lucy, my producer, we’ve got a great rapport going where we just create a big old playlist for every batch of shows that we’re going to make. And I’m constantly throwing Ideas in there, whether it be from, you know, remembering about old films or TV shows that I loved, or I’ve just chatted to someone about something and it’s sparked an idea that I’ll throw that in and then my producer will put together the running order of the show and then I’ll work on the script.
“It’s really lovely because it’s not just a case of being given a list of music that I’ve got to talk about. I’m really involved in it. And so that makes it even more special really because it feels like it’s coming from a really truthful place.”
While Edith is happiest uniting her passions of music, cinema and radio she has a list of takeaways she wants her listeners to gain from the BBC show.
“I hope listeners come away from it feeling two things. One that they feel like they’ve just they’re kind of energised after having moment for themselves. But also that we’ve taken them somewhere because I think the thing about film and TV music is this transportive nature. There’s nothing better than your imagination being sparked and so I hope it’s kind of like take a breath almost and takes us all on a bit of an adventure.”
Does film fanatic’s Edith’s intense day job dampen her love of the silver screen? “No, I’m a total geek!” she says. “I watched a really great film yesterday. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, the new Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell film. It’s so gorgeous. There’s a real flurry of new filmmakers who are trying to approach romcoms in a a much more contemporary and creative way, and this is definitely one of those. And those two are fantastic on screen together.”
Speaking of leading lady Margot, Edith like many film buffs is eager for Emerald Fennell Wuthering Heights adaptation following the release of the first trailer this month.
“Emerald Fennell is one of the best,” says Edith.” I think she’s one of the most exciting filmmakers I think we have. And that marriage of, you know, Margot [Robbie] finally being on camera in one of her films because she’s being a producer behind the scenes for most of Emerald’s career.
“I that trailer is so sexy and so sensual and I’m so excited for it that I just, I mean, yeah, I think in terms of female storytellers, both Margot and Emerald are like at the top of their game. And oh my God Jacob Elordi in a floaty white shirt, he just looks like he was born for it. Born to play Heathcliff.
“I’ve seen some criticism but people have a knee-jerk reaction to things. People getting up in arms when they haven’t seen the movie yet. I mean the book is really raunchy. I’m looking forward to it. Bring on the raunch!”
