A pair of Loose Ladies spent two hours with Britain’s Got Talent singing sensations Richard and Adam.
Lynne Chicke and Jan Rawlinson-Doyle present their Loose Ladies show on Radio Deeside on Sunday and Wednesday evenings and say getting the two Holywell heartthrobs to spend two hours in the studio talking about their music, lives and latest album was a real coup for the fledgling broadcasters.
The friends, who both live in Hawarden, launched their Loose Ladies show on the community radio station last December and say they never imagined it would prove so successful.
Jan, said: “It’s been unbelievable and we are even getting stopped in the street now with people asking us about the Loose Ladies show.
“We are on air twice a week with both shows having a running time of two hours.
But the highlight so far has been to have Richard and Adam come in and spend the full two hours talking about everything from the egg throwing incident as they performed on Britain’s Got Talent to their fan club, family and of course, their Nan.
“It was so relaxed and we were so pleased they agreed to come in. Then a few days later we had a few of their Groupie Group members in including their Nan.
We had an amazing time and chatted about how they got into singing, what they were like at home and their undoubted success.”
She added: “Both shows went down really well. The shows are broadcast from the studios at Deeside Leisure Centre and go out over the internet. We are not sure exactly how many listeners we get but I can say in just 10 minutes following the Richard and Adam show we had more than 300 tweets about the show. And Facebook went just as crazy.
Lynne said: “It’s a fun two hour magazine type show which Jan and I really enjoy. It’s more of a hobby for us to be honest but it couldn’t have gone any better. And we are now becoming well known for our pink wigs!
That started after Marilyn Michaels (from Radio GIRL Productions) conducted an interview on our behalf with Alison Wheeler from The South, the remaining member of The Beautiful South following their split-up.
The South were appearing at The Tivoli in Buckley and the Pink Hair was a dare by Marilyn and Alyson.
“They even took photographs of us from the stage on our own phones and Alison keeps in touch via twitter. Now we are getting stopped in the supermarket by people asking if we are the Loose Ladies! It’s amazing how it has taken off.”
She added: “We started the show after Jan and I did a 10-minute slot just talking about local events and gigs. I used to volunteer at UK Flow, a similar community radio project in London, which no longer exists.
“Jan’s brother, Barry Dale, was one of the founders of Radio Deeside and he suggested we get together and put out a show. We were very nervous to be honest and not sure if it would work.
“But the feedback has been amazing, unbelievable really, and the icing on the cake so to speak was having Richard and Adam come in and spend the full two hours with us.
“They were so easy to talk to and told us all about the rise to fame and just what Britain’s Got Talent was like. And they talked a lot about their new album, At the Movies, which has just been released.”
She added: “And to follow that interview up by having their Groupie Group including founders Eleanor Tatler Hemmings and Richard and Adams Nań Lorna Slack come in was brilliant. They have more than 1,000 members so obviously we hadn’t space for everyone but those that came in were really funny and down-to-earth.”
The Loose Ladies are now looking forward to their next big event, a sponsored walk for Flintshire Deaf Children’s Society in conjunction with Deeside’s Regal Pawn.
Lynn said: “We have been featuring Pawn Stars UK on our show as they have been filming for the next series in Deeside. Jan and I will be wearing our pink wigs and joining the sponsored walk on Saturday, August 16 at 10am from Regal Pawn.
“The walk goes right through Deeside across the river and back through Garden City to Regal Pawn. We are hoping some of the stars of Pawn Stars UK will be joining us. We are planning a big party back at Regal Pawn with Handtastic, a sign language choir, coming along too.”
Jan added: “We really couldn’t be happier the way Loose Ladies is going. We’ve been invited to a red carpet function at the Springfield Hotel in a few weeks’ time and we have the Crusaders rugby team from Wrexham coming in as well as a few other celebrity guests.
“We have no idea just where Loose Ladies is going to end up. I only started it as a hobby and now I’ve got people stopping me in the street and asking me if I’m one of the Loose Ladies. I still find that a bit strange to be honest.”
Radio Deesides Project Manager and one of its founders, Barry Dale, says the Loose Ladies show has proved a big hit.
He said: “I’d encourage anyone to tune in via the internet and listen to Lynn and Jan’s show. They have a real talent for putting their guests at ease and having fun.
“They were both a bit nervous when they initially started. My sister, Jan, came down to our studio at Deeside Leisure Centre to help out while Llynn has done community radio voluntary work in the past. They started off doing a couple of 10 minute slots just talking about local gigs and what was going on in the area.
“We encouraged them to try giving Loose Ladies a bash and, once they had got over their initial nerves and shyness they have really done well. The show is now incredibly popular and growing its audience all the time.”
He added: “To get Richard and Adam in the studio for the full two hours was a real coup for Radio Deeside and the show, and the follow-up with the Groupie Group, have, without doubt, been our most popular broadcasts to date.
“I’m really pleased for both Lynn and Jan, and would encourage everyone to tune in to Radio Deeside via the internet. It’s a fantastic station crammed with Flintshire news and views and really worth supporting.” the Loose ladies are also set to interview Local broadcast icon Pete Price from City Talk 105.9 so Stay tuned to www.radiodeeside.com, also available on your smart phone via the TuneIN app
