BBC Radio Ulster (Irish: BBC Raidió Uladh) is one of two Northern Irish BBC radio stations, the other being BBC Radio Foyle located in the city of Derry. BBC Radio Ulster is located at Broadcasting House in the Ormeau Avenue area of Belfast city centre. It is a division of BBC Northern Ireland.

It is the most popular radio station in Northern Ireland and has a range of programmes including news, talk, features, music and sport. News bulletins are broadcast usually on the hour seven days a week from 7.00am until midnight.

BBC Radio Ulster was founded in January 1975 replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4 (previously the BBC Northern Ireland Home Service).

An opt-out of the station exists in Derry BBC Radio Foyle, carrying alternate programming and news for much of the time between 7:30am and 5:00pm weekdays and a few hours at the weekend. The station is also broadcast on DAB Digital Radio, digital television and on the internet.

The total budget for 2009 allocated to the station is £18.4m.^{[citation needed]}

Ulster (Irish: Ulaidh or Cúige Uladh, Ulster Scots: Ulstèr or Ulster) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" Irish: rí ruirech. In modern times, clusters of counties have been attributed to certain provinces but these clusters have no legal status. The province itself, while enjoying common usage and forming a strong part of local identity, has no official function for local government purposes.

Ulster is composed of nine counties. Six of these (almost 57% of the land area) make up Northern Ireland: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone. The three remaining counties (about 43% of the land area) are in the Republic of Ireland: Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan.

The name Ulster derives from the Irish Cúige Uladh (IPA: [ˈkuːɟ ˈʌlˠu, ˈʌlˠi]) meaning "The fifth of Uladh", a reference to the five regions into which ancient Ireland was divided. In the English language, the first part of the name ("Ul")refers to the Ulaidh tribes inhabiting this northernmost region. The latter part of the name ("ster") derives either from the Irish tír or the Old Norse staðr, both of which translate as "land" or "territory".

Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE KCSG (31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops. He was also known for his fundraising and support of various charities, particularly Stoke Mandeville Hospital. He was widely described as a philanthropist and was honoured for his efforts.

Savile was born in Leeds, the youngest of seven children (Mary, Marjory, Vincent, John, Joan, Christina and James) born to Agnes Monica (née Kelly) and Vincent Joseph Marie Savile, a bookmaker's clerk and insurance agent. Savile almost died of pneumonia at the age of five months.

He was a Bevin Boy, conscripted during World War II to work as a coal miner at South Kirkby Colliery, West Yorkshire, England. He suffered serious spinal injuries in a mine explosion and spent a long period in recuperation. Having started playing records in dance halls in the early 1940s, Savile claimed to be the first ever disc jockey. According to his autobiography, he was the first person to use two turntables and a microphone, at the Grand Records Ball at the Guardbridge Hotel in 1947. Savile is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of twin turntables for continuous play of music, though his claim has been disputed. (Twin turntables had been illustrated in the BBC Handbook in 1929 and were advertised for sale in Gramophone magazine in 1931.)

Cara Dillon (born 21 July 1975 in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is an Irish folk singer. In 2001, she launched her career as a solo artist in the UK with the eponymous Cara Dillon album. However, Dillon had been pursuing a career in music since her teenage years, progressing through folk bands Óige and Equation and spending time working with her husband Sam Lakeman under the duo name Polar Star. She has also collaborated with artists from a variety of genres along the way.

She is the sister of Mary Dillon, formerly of Déanta, and is married to Sam Lakeman, with whom she has collaborated musically.

Dillon comes from an area steeped in Irish traditional music. Since she was a schoolgirl she has sung and performed. She learned local folk songs from teachers and workshops held in the town. She can also play the fiddle and whistles. At the age of 14 she won the All Ireland Singing Trophy at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.

In 1992 she formed a band called Óige (an Irish word meaning 'youth') with school friends Murrough and Ruardhrai O'Kane, bringing her take on Irish traditional songs to Ireland, Scotland and further afield. During this time she also performed with big names such as De Dannan and Phil Coulter. Óige recorded two albums with Dillon: a studio and a live album. Inspiration was recorded in 1992 to sell at concerts in Europe. The live album, simply called Live, was recorded at a concert in Glasgow in 1994. A cassette tape version also exists under the name Live in Glasgow. Dillon left Óige in 1995 after being asked to replace Kate Rusby in a so-called folk supergroup Equation; however, she guests on their second studio album, Bang On, playing fiddles on the last track, "Maids Of Mitchelstown".

Joseph "Joe" McElderry ( /məˈkɛldəri/; born 16 June 1991) is an English singer songwriter and model. He won the sixth series of the ITV show The X Factor in 2009. His first single "The Climb" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Charts. He was also crowned the winner of the second series of Popstar to Operastar, two years later in 2011. To date he has released three albums - two of them reaching the UK top three. He is currently working on his fourth studio album.

Born in South Shields, England, McElderry is the only child of Jim McElderry and Eileen Joyce. The couple separated when McElderry was a child. McElderry was raised in a small flat on Tyneside.

McElderry attended Harton Technology College in Lisle Road, South Shields, before joining South Tyneside College to study AS level school qualifications, and Newcastle College to study performing arts. He was the Pride of South Tyneside's Young Performer of the Year in 2008. McElderry studied for BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts (Advanced Performance) at Newcastle College Performance Academy and in 2010 graduated with triple distinction. He took the role of 'Danny Zuko' in Grease performed at Harton Technology College.