Local radio pioneer, TV presenter and panto star John Cooper has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement accolade sponsored by LWC Drinks at the 2024 Pride Of Sefton Awards.
There was huge applause for John as his name was read out at the event held at The Grand in Southport.
John was unfortunately unable to be at the ceremony due to a medical issue but his award was accepted on his behalf by long-time radio colleague and friend Andrew Hilbert.
John was involved at the very beginning of the Dune FM radio station when it was running test broadcasts to try and secure a full-time licence – thus giving Southport its very own commercial radio station. This was back in the early 1990s.
Dune FM launched full-time in October 1997 with John was involved from the start as one of the first presenters.
John Cooper (left) with Craig Phillips in pantomime
A few years later John took over the weekday breakfast show which he presented for a number of years, during a time the station had its highest listenership in RAJAR.
Following a good few years on the Breakfast Show, John remained a big part of Dune FM as part of the weekday line-up.
He would spend many hours giving charities and organisations airtime whilst also broadcasting live from a whole host of events across the area.
John also hosted numerous events across the region.
Among his accolades was being awarded a Southport Ambassadors Award.
John over the years starred in many pantos at Southport Theatre and Convention Centre working alongside stars such as Craig Phillips, Tim Vincent, Syd Little and many others.
During one pantomime at Southport Theatre a rogue pyrotechnic flew across the stage and John threw himself in its path, suffering severe burns in the process, so that it didn’t injure any of the young performers on stage around him.
John Cooper
He has also become a very recognisable face as a presenter on the Cruise Channel, utilising his experience gained from years in the travel industry.
John to this day continues to broadcast on local radio, hosting a weekly regular show on Dune Radio.
He is the second recipient of the Lifetime Achievement at The Grand Pride Of Sefton Awards after the honour went to Sir Kenny Dalglish and Marina Dalglish in 2023.
Dune Radio Content Director Andrew Hilbert said:
“This year marks 20 years of friendship between John and myself.
“Starting out in radio back in 2004 one of my first jobs was to answer the phones on his very popular Sunday lunchtime programme on Dune FM, Road To The Roast.
“John is one of those people where he’ll do anything for anyone. You could speak to him daily or once a month and each time we speak it’s like we’d chatted half an hour previous and pick up where we left off.
“I’m overjoyed that John has won this award – it’s thoroughly well deserved.”
- The Pride Of Sefton Awards are organised by Mikhail Hotel and Leisure Group and Stand Up For Southport in association with media partners In Demand Radio. 13 categories of awards are sponsored by a variety of local businesses. For more details about the Pride Of Sefton Awards please visit: www.prideofseftonawards.co.uk
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