Paul Lewis
Friday August 4, 2006
The Guardian

To his fans, his bolshie and brash presenting style offers a guaranteed chuckle over breakfast. To others, the abrasive sound of Chris Moyles on the radio is as irritating as he is inescapable.
But the self-styled "saviour" of Radio 1's morning slot yesterday proved there is substance behind his self-adulation, registering a record number of listeners. Scoring the highest breakfast results for Radio 1 since 1999, the DJ's famed rants and caustic quips attracted 6.79 million listeners in the last quarter - an increase of 530,000 on the previous year. Figures were boosted by a series of broadcasts from Germany during the World Cup, a spokesman said.

His bulging audience share caps a recent turnaround. He was recently censured by industry watchdog Ofcom for swearing live on air and using the word "gay" to mean rubbish. The Hollywood actress Halle Berry also accused of him being racist during a live interview.

But Moyles, who began his career in hospital radio and hosting shows for the high street store Top Shop, appears to have won new fans after his whole-hearted appearances as a crooner on the celebrity version of ITV1's X Factor.

ITV bosses are also rumoured to be seeking some of the Moyles magic and are said to have offered the DJ, who earns