The station's launch team included Kevin Fernihough, Mark Keen, Willie Morgan, Kenny Hague, Jake Yapp, Peter King and Sarah Graham.

In April 1998, John Myers took control of the station, which was rebranded as "Century 106" and relaunched with a new team of presenters, including Adrian Allen and Chris Ashley.

David Lloyd left the station to join Galaxy 105 in Leeds while presenter Adrian Allen walked out mid-show in protest.

More new presenters joined Century, including Ian Skye, Jason King, Stuart Ellis, Sam Pinkham and Paula White.

On 25 June 2007, Chrysalis announced the sale of Heart, along with its sister stations The Arrow, LBC and Galaxy, for £170 million to Global Radio.

[9] Under the rebrand, the station ended its franchise agreement with Global Radio which allowed it to use the Heart identity and carry networked programming from London.

[10] Gem 106 was launched at midnight on Saturday 1 January 2011 with a special programme presented by Orion's director of programming and marketing David Lloyd.

[13] In July 2019, Gem began taking overnight programming from the Hits Radio Network in Manchester on Sunday - Thursday nights[14] before gradually expanding to evening and off-peak output.

As of May 2022, Gem broadcasts a regional breakfast show on weekdays from the Nottingham studios, alongside hourly news bulletins seven days a week and traffic updates at peak times.