A CHESTER-BASED radio station has celebrated its 20th birthday today (Wednesday, March 1).

Named after the River Dee in Chester, the Dee Radio station has stayed true to its local roots since its first day on air 20 years ago.

During the Covid pandemic in 2021, the station moved from its original studios to new purpose-built studios in the heart of the city right on the banks of the river.

The station celebrated its birthday with a host of competitions and listeners sharing their memories of the past 20 years.

Chief executive Chris Hurst said: "We’ve had a wonderful day shared with our listeners and the amazing team at Dee.

"We’re lucky to have such great support from listeners, advertisers, the Dee team and our shareholders many of all these vital supporters have been with us since day 1.

"It’s perhaps this unique level of support that has allowed Dee to become one of the last and oldest independent commercial FM licence holders in the UK."

From a single FM licence serving Chester, West Cheshire and North East Wales, the station has grown into the Dee Radio Group.

In 2009, it acquired Cheshire’s Silk Radio, covering East Cheshire and so broadcasting to one of the wealthiest areas in the UK the ‘Golden Triangle’ of South Manchester and Cheshire.

In 2013 as a principal shareholder Dee launched the DAB multiplex, covering the extended region. This allowed Dee on DAB to be born, covering over 1.5 million adults.

In 2016, Dee launched both love 80s Liverpool and love 80s Manchester and, last year, the group was the principal shareholder in the successful application for the DAB multiplex for East Cheshire.