A FORMER hotelier turned radio DJ has won an industry award for his Saturday morning show.

John Govier used to own the Old Black Dog Pub in Lyme Road and now presents and produces a show for local and visiting musicians on BBC Radio Devon.

John was named Best FM DJ in the South West Music Awards at a ceremony in Exeter’s Rougement Hotel.

Listeners and local musicians nominated their favourite DJs online and John was among the three finalists after public voting.

A panel of judges from a London music magazine chose John as the winner. He said: “I went to the awards not expecting to win but being very chuffed that I was nominated and in the top three along with another BBC presenter and a commercial jock. When they read my name out that was a fantastic feeling but I wouldn’t have even been nominated if it wasn’t for my guests and listeners.”

John, whose show attracts around 50,000 listeners, invites guests to join him in the studio every Saturday to chat and listen to local and visiting musicians.

“We have had acts from Lyme Regis on the show,” he said.

“They come in and play live on the programme but they might be sitting next to someone who is a physicist, explorer or a vicar.

“We have had Gavin Tyte, the beatboxing vicar from Uplyme, on a few times. The whole premise is that everyone mucks in together – you are more likely to hear my guests asking questions of each other than me asking questions and it’s just a lot of fun.

“My show is a bit different to other ones on the radio on Saturday mornings and I think that’s probably what swung it a bit for me to win the award.

“There’s a huge pool of talented musicians in the South West and we should never underestimate the talent we’ve got here.

“This is an opportunity to showcase them and although they are in a studio with a small group of people they are actually playing to an audience the size of Wembley.”

It is the first award that John has won in his 19-year radio career. A former St Michael’s Primary and Woodroffe School pupil, his background is in the hotel and catering industry.

He has previously worked at Lyme Regis Golf Club, the Bell Cliff Restaurant, and he owned the Old Black Dog Hotel from 1988 to 1993 when he left to join the BBC as a broadcasting assistant.