As we got closer and close to the start of BBC 202 Commonwealth Games Radio the competition was on between all the teams to see which show would have the most spectacular line-up of guests.

We were determined that the Breakfast Show - RISE would lead the way. Our first bit of good fortune was the news that the Minister of Sport The Rt Hon Richard Caborn had accepted our invitation to be a guest on our first show. The competition was won but we were not satisfied...we wanted even more.

PUBLICITY BANNER FOR BBC 2002

Also live in the studio on the 4th of March 2002 was athlete Diane Modahl whom I had met at the 15th Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada. Also on the programme was Sir Bob Scott who spoke to us on the line from Liverpool, where he is attempting to win for them the nomination as the 2008 Capital of Culture.

As we got close to 6:30 on that first morning every one was tense. Was everything going to work? Were the live guests going to turn up. Would the phones work?

Well, the answer was yes to all of the above.

At exactly 6:30 I welcomed listeners to BBC 2002 Commonwealth Games Radio for the first time, and we played Shackles by Mary Mary.

As an emergency, we had asked our Editor Tim Pemberton to be on stand-by in case something went down...we didn't need him.

At 8:10 we welcomed live on the phone the Chief Executive of the Manchester 2002 Frances Done. It was a great interview as she explained everything about the Games and where we were at the moment in the whole scheme of things.

When the Minister of Sport walked in, the big bosses arrived almost simultaneously. There was tension in the air as producer Kaylois Henry (Miss Kaylois) said on the talk-back take him next. To break the ice I started off by asking him what was going on in Sheffield football. We were off. It was brilliant. He answered all the questions and was very complimentary about Manchester and about the Games.

The big Games story that day was the fact that some people in the Beswick area were having their TV pictures interrupted by the new City of Manchester Stadium. We were able to hear from the residents and also from the City Council. In coming weeks, Manchester Council would provide SKY dishes to solve the problems.

That first show was a huge success and just before 9:00 we welcomed our morning presenters Chris and Jessie to preview their show. At 10:0 on the dot we went to the News and cleared the studio for Chris and Jessie. Editor Tim Pemberton was delighted with the show and so were the big bosses - Mike Briscoe and Martin Brooks. We went up to the BBC canteen for breakfast and our debrief.

DAY 1 ON BBC 2002

The first show was a complete success.

My favorite bit was speaking to Diane Modahl. She spoke about her sporting career and we spent quite some time speaking about her drug problem which began in Victoria when she was accused of taking performance enhancing drugs. Later she was completely cleared. We spoke about her plans for these games as at this time there was still a possibility of her taking part but she would not confirm whether or not she would be running.

I loved that first show. We had arrived on time and had a first show that we were extremely proud of.

BBC 2002 Commonwealth Games Radio was on the way!

Next time I'll tell you about the early weeks on RISE - The Breakfast Show on BBC2002 Commonwealth Games Radio.