Everything you need to know about Simon Mayo's Confessions

Got a confession? Simon can help...

Author: Natalie ReesPublished 9th May 2024

Simon Mayo is the Drivetime host on Greatest Hits Radio playing the music that defined his career every weekday 4pm-7pm! He is joined by his team sports presenter Matt Williams, chef Nigel Barden and Producer Suzi.

Are you saintly with no story to tell? Or maybe you have sinned... In which case we can help! Join Simon Mayo and the team as you confess your deepest, darkest, most hilarious secrets and ask for forgiveness from the Confessions Collective.

Is Simon Mayo still doing Confessions?

He sure is. When Simon Mayo was a young whippersnapper presenter, he received thousands of letters from listeners confessing their worst misdemeanours and closely kept secrets, begging for his forgiveness.

He's now asking the Greatest Hits Radio listeners to send in their own Confessions which will be read out on air. Will you be forgiven?

How can I listen to Simon Mayo's Confessions?

You can listen to Confessions on Simon Mayo's Drivetime Show every weekday from 4-7pm. Along with Confessions, the team need YOU to guess the Drivetime Drama and submit your requests for All Request Friday!

Simon Mayo's Confessions podcast

In this weekly podcast, Simon Mayo’s Confession, you can hear hilarious revelations from those willing to share their deepest, darkest secrets on Simon’s Greatest Hits Radio Drivetime Show. Expect tales of greed, debauchery, deception, and honest mistakes - including those confessions we could never broadcast on the radio.

Also available exclusively on the podcast will be The Parish Notice Board, where Simon shares listeners' emails and social interactions; as well as Confessions from the Crypt – another chance to hear a classic confession from the archives.

Simon Mayo’s Confessions will be available from greatesthitsradio.co.uk or wherever you get your podcasts from 4pm, every Friday.

How can I submit a Confession for Simon Mayo?

If you need to get something off your chest, email Simon at: confessions@greatesthitsradio.co.uk

Watch some of Simon Mayo's Confessions:

Workplace revenge

This listener got revenge on their workplace after being made redundant and the story got Simon practicing his Spanish (and had Matt and Suzi in fits of giggles)! Listen to the confession below.

A mishap at the zoo

It was an embarrassing moment for this listener at the zoo... oops! Listen to the full confession below.

An embarrassing accident on an airplane

A very awkward incident took place on a plane, which this listener confessed to Simon. Listen to the story below.

Revenge of the snowman

This festive Confession might make you think twice about destroying a snowman! Listen to it below.

Confusion at the train station

This listener and their Nana got themselves into a sticky situation at the train station. Listen to it below!

Here are Simon’s top tips for a great confession:

• Confessions should be entirely your own original work.

• They must be true and not be defamatory or infringe any UK laws. Otherwise you’ll end up on the naughty list!

• Channel your inner Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen or even Bridget Jones! Have fun with it!

• It needs to be long enough to get all the juicy details in, set the scene, explain the misdemeanour and let us know the outcome!

• Make sure you include whose forgiveness you are asking for, but don’t worry about writing an epic novel – we don’t need pages and pages.

• You can choose to change your name and the name of anyone who features in the confession to remain anonymous.

• Any number of Confessions can be submitted provided they comply with the terms and conditions.

Terms & Conditions:

Confessions should be entirely your own original work. They must be true and not be defamatory or infringe any UK laws. By sharing your Confession with Greatest Hist Radio/Bauer Media Group you agree to grant to Greatest Hist Radio/Bauer Media Group, free of charge, permission to use the material in any way it wants (including modifying and adapting it for operational and editorial reasons) for Greatest Hits Radio/Bauer Media services in any media. This also includes broadcasting on radio or TV and publishing extracts within the context of a book about the Confessions or any radio or TV programme.

Confessions will be chosen for inclusion in the programme entirely at the discretion of Greatest Hist Radio/Bauer Media Group. No fee will be payable for their use. Please note that Greatest Hits Radio/Bauer Media Group has no obligation to use or publish your confession. Due to the expected number of confessions it may receive Greatest Hits Radio/Bauer Media Group may not be able to acknowledge receipt or let you know if your Confession is to be included in the radio programme or any other publication.

If published the "Confession" may be accompanied by the name you supplied and the region where the story took place. However as stated above these details may be altered, amended, or deleted by Greatest Hits Radio/Bauer Media Group at its absolute discretion. You can also choose to change your name and the name of anyone who features in the confession to remain anonymous.

Greatest Hits Radio/Bauer Media Group will only use any personal details provided for the purposes of administering this feature and will not publish them or provide them to anyone without permission.

Check out the Greatest Hits Radio presenters:

Ken Bruce

Greatest Hits Radio is the home of the legend that is Ken Bruce, weekdays 10am-1pm - including PopMaster, the UK's biggest music quiz for 25 years and counting.
Find out more about Ken and PopMaster.

Simon Mayo

Simon Mayo hosts Drivetime every weekday at 4pm and The Album Show on Sundays from 1pm.


Simon said of his Drivetime show: "I think the thing about Drivetime is that it is like the flip side of breakfast. You kind of know what an awful lot of people are doing, it's the end of most people's day, they're doing some final bits of work, they're shutting the laptop, they're doing a bit of food preparation, they're driving home. I think it is that sense of camaraderie, it's the end of the day, people want to be cheered up and they want to spend some time with some decent folk on the radio!"


Find out more about Simon Mayo here.

Paul Gambaccini

Paul brings us his famous America's Greatest Hits programme every Saturday between 5pm-7pm, featuring two hours of the Greatest Hits that made it big in America.


Sharing some of the things he loves about his show, Paul said: "Radio is the perfect form of one-to-one communication. TV can be direct, too, but the camera operator is always in your line of vision! I enjoy sharing my favourite music, and my admittedly freakish knowledge of it, with people who care about that music. I love the opportunity for challenging talk overs, too!"


Find out more about Paul Gambaccini here.

Alex Lester

The Dark Lord keeps you company in the small hours. Join him for the Music Marathon from 1am and the Best Time Of The Day Show 4-6am weekdays.


Alex brings: "Your favourite songs. Bizarre insights and unusual thoughts," to his show and told us that he loves that during his show: "It's just the two of us. You and me. (Against the world)."


Find out more about Alex Lester here.

Jenny Powell

Jenny plays the biggest songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s on Greatest Hits Radio to kickstart your weekend, every Saturday and Sunday from 6am.


On Jenny's show, listeners can look forward to The Breakfast Club, which she says is: "A warm-up for the weekend, full of positive vibes and feel-good factor when you wake up on Saturdays and Sundays. I insist you have a dance with me on the Kitchen Disco, I share some fun news stories from the previous week on The Headliners and get you smiling no matter what, sharing some of my favourite tracks from the 70s, 80, and 90s."


Find out more about Jenny Powell here.

Andy Crane

Join Andy's late-night community of music and company, Sunday-Thursday at 10pm.

Andy has three hours of the biggest songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s as well as The Top 10 at 10 and Midnight Music Marathon. His show is full of: "Great music and plenty of laughing."

Find out more about Andy Crane here.

Martin Kemp

Join our resident pop star Martin Kemp as he kicks off your Friday night with his Mixtape – three hours of handpicked essential weekend songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s to get you in the mood and dancing round the kitchen.


Then on Saturdays, it's side-two as he brings you nothing but the greatest decade of all time on The 80s Mixtape.


Get your teenage kicks in the company of THE 80s poster boy on Greatest Hits Radio!


Find out more about Martin Kemp here.

Jackie Brambles

Jackie Brambles hosts The Evening Show every Monday to Thursday from 7pm - 10pm.


Jackie promises to deliver: "Great music and great conversations! Every night we're joined by one of your favourite artists of the 70s, 80s and 90s for an in-depth chat about the highs and lows of their careers and their musical influences over the years."


Find out more about Jackie Brambles here.

Kate Thornton

Join Kate at the weekend.


Saturday afternoons are all about the best 70s, 80s & 90s pop soundtrack, bringing you the weekend Good Times – expect One Hit Wonders, Anthems, Nostalgia and plenty of opportunities for you to get involved in the show live.


On Sundays, it's 'The UK Pop 40' as Kate counts down the UK Top 40 as it was on this day in history – exactly where the chart should be. Get the tape recorder out the loft!


Find out more about Kate Thornton here.

Richard Allinson

Weekend Good Times never sounded so good!


He's a broadcasting legend with a voice like silk that, alongside the Biggest Songs of the 70s, 80s & 90s, make the perfect weekend soundtrack – Saturday and Sundays at 9am.


Saturdays kick off with your chance to guess the year on The Top 10 Til 10, while Sundays are reserved for an hour of your special songs and dedications.


Speaking about his show, Richard said: "The idea is to recreate all those great memories I have of weekends growing up, a bunch of us meeting up to buy clothes, records, maybe sort a date…everything happened on a weekend and we remember the records we played at that time."


Find out more about Richard Allinson here.

Des Paul

Join Des for Rhythm Of The Night every Friday and Saturday night from 10pm, where he plays all the greatest soul, funk, disco and Motown hits to start your weekend.


Des explained what he loves the most about his show: "The favourite bit of presenting Rhythm of the Night is when listeners contact me to say how much they've loved hearing a particular track and then tell us all about when and where they used to hear it."


Find out more about Des Paul here.

How can I listen to Greatest Hits Radio?

You can listen to Greatest Hits Radio on your good old traditional radio - we're on FM and DAB in lots of places. You can also download the free Rayo app for iPhone or Android, listen on our website or ask your Smart Speaker to "play Greatest Hits Radio". Find out more about how to listen to Greatest Hits Radio.

Keep up with Greatest Hits Radio on social media

Follow Greatest Hits Radio on Twitter

Like Greatest Hits Radio on Facebook

Follow Greatest Hits Radio on Instagram

Subscribe to Greatest Hits Radio on YouTube

You can also keep up with Simon Mayo on Twitter.

WATCH: Get to know Simon Mayo

Now read:

Simon Mayo returns to Drivetime with Greatest Hits Radio

Get to know Simon Mayo!

Get to know Nigel Barden from the Simon Mayo Drivetime Show

Get to know Matt Williams from the Simon Mayo Drivetime Show

All the ways you can listen to Greatest Hits Radio

How to listen to Greatest Hits Radio:

Listen to Greatest Hits Radio on the free Rayo app, online or on your DAB digital radio. You can also listen on your smart speaker by saying “Play Greatest Hits Radio”.