The station was originally launched as Radio Teesside at 6 p.m. on 31 December 1970 with a local news programme entitled Teesside Tonight, presented by George Lambelle.
On 1 April 1974, the station became known as Radio Cleveland when the county of Cleveland was formed. The station moved to new studios in 1983. On 1 April 1996, the county of Cleveland was abolished and the boroughs of Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland were returned to County Durham and North Yorkshire. These four boroughs, along with nearby Darlington, now form the governmental sub-region of Tees Valley. Also included in the main coverage area is the Army's main garrison at Catterick Garrison, which is also included in the transmission area of Radio York on 104.3 FM.
On Saturday 11 August 2007, the station was renamed BBC Tees. The BBC Tees brand was already associated with its "Where I Live" website and "BBC Bus", which have both since been discontinued.
On 27 January 2020, the station was renamed BBC Radio Tees. The addition of "radio" to the names of most BBC local radio stations was to avoid confusion with its similarly named TV news regions.
Colin Bunyan is currently the longest-serving presenter at BBC Radio Tees, hosting the Sunday afternoon Vintage Vinyl programme. He has been a presenter for over 47 years.[2]
Before moving to Eston Nab, the signal on 95 FM originally was relatively strong and originated from the 900-foot Bilsdale transmitter on the North York Moors. A relay transmitter covering the town of Whitby broadcasts on 95.8 FM.
The DAB signals come from the Bauer 11B multiplex at Eston Nab (near the A174 road) and Brusselton (near Shildon between the A68 and A6072).
On 10 August 2021, FM transmission was knocked off air indefinitely following a fire at the Bilsdale site. It is feared that the structural integrity of the transmitter mast may have been compromised.[3] As at 11 August 2021, the 95 FM service is available again, using the Eston Nab transmitter, but it does not reach all areas of the station's transmission area.[4] A temporary transmitter on 104.0 FM has also been instated for Darlington and the surrounding areas.[5]
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