The first record played on Radio 2 was the title track to the 1965 film The Sound of Music by Julie Andrews.

Notable broadcasters on Radio 2 in the 1970s and 1980s are Tom Edwards and Ray Moore, who both presented the early breakfast show, Terry Wogan on breakfast, replaced by Ken Bruce and later Derek Jameson; Jimmy Young and his lunchtime current affairs show; David Hamilton on mid-afternoons and John Dunn at what became known as drivetime.

In its early years, the station, as the Light Programme had done, played a large amount of specially-recorded music because of needle time restrictions imposed by the Musicians' Union.

[9] The first half of the 1980s had seen presenters such as Kenny Everett, David Hamilton and Steve Jones increasingly feature more contemporary pop music in their playlists.

As a result, David Hamilton quit the station at the end of 1986, claiming the music policy had become "geriatric" although Terry Wogan's replacement, Derek Jameson, did appeal to an older demographic.

The late 1980s saw the launch of "gold" spinoffs from Independent Local Radio stations across many parts of the UK, playing classic pop and rock.

Radio 2 has the highest listening figures of any station in the UK, its schedule filled with broadcasters such as Tony Blackburn, Sara Cox, Jeremy Vine, Mark Radcliffe, Trevor Nelson, Jo Whiley, Paul Gambaccini, Gary Davies, Zoe Ball and Bob Harris.

[12] His role, according to Andrew Harrison, the chief executive of RadioCentre, was "to identify both areas of best practice and possible savings.

In May, drivetime host Simon Mayo was joined by evening DJ Jo Whiley in a new format.

[23] On 19 November 2024, Zoe Ball revealed that she would be stepping down from hosting the Breakfast Show on Friday 20 December 2024.

[24] The new Scott Mills Breakfast Show is set to launch on Monday 27 January, with Trevor Nelson taking over the station's afternoon slot on the same day.

On 5 October 2013, these two shows were joined by Sounds of the 80s, which was originally hosted by Sara Cox and broadcast on Friday from 22:00–midnight.

In May 2018 Gary Davies took over this show, with Cox was hosting a live 22:00 to midnight slot from Monday–Thursday, until she moved to drivetime on 14 January 2019.

Radio 2 does not broadcast complete works of classical music or offer in-depth discussion or drama, although some book readings, comedy and arts coverage remains on the station.

Jeremy Vine's weekday lunchtime show covers current and consumer affairs in an informal manner, a style pioneered by Jimmy Young.

[29] Although the majority of programming comes from London, some shows are broadcast from other cities around the UK, including Birmingham and Manchester.

For many years, the network's overnight presenters, such as Janice Long and Alex Lester, were based in Birmingham, but made the move to London in April 2008.

In May 1999, she gave a "bizarre" performance while standing in for Terry Wogan, blaming the incident on a lack of sleep the previous night.

[146] She was also "spoken to" by BBC bosses after praising Enoch Powell during a show in July 2009, describing him as "the best prime minister this country never had".

[147] On 16 October 2008, an episode of The Russell Brand Show, co-hosted by fellow Radio 2 presenter Jonathan Ross was recorded for transmission at a later date.

Initially, the programme only received a small number of complaints regarding Ross' bad language; however, the incident was reported a week later by The Mail on Sunday and a public outcry soon ensued.

[148][149] In July 2009, longtime presenter Malcolm Laycock announced his resignation live on air following a long-running dispute over the content of his show, Sunday Night at 10, and issues regarding his salary.