JOHN Peel’s son is to follow in his father’s footsteps after landing his own BBC radio show, it has been announced.

From June 4, Tom Ravenscroft, who grew up in Suffolk, will host a weekly show for the digital station 6 Music, alongside such DJs as Lauren Laverne and Elbow’s Guy Garvey.

Like his father, he is a champion of new artists and will anchor a three-hour Friday night slot on the station, which is threatened with closure.

The 30-year-old said he was “thrilled” to have been asked, adding: “It’s great to be offered a home on a station with such amazing DJs, who open your ears to lots of exciting music, both new and old. I intend to do the same and can’t wait to get started.” Paul Rodgers, 6 Music editor, said: “Tom Ravenscroft is a great young broadcaster with all the knowledge, passion and articulacy that you might expect from someone of his lineage. Tom is much sought-after and we are thrilled that he thinks that 6 Music is the best way for him to reach his audience.”

BBC 6 Music has an uncertain future as a result of a BBC strategic review, which has prompted a sizeable backlash. Listening figures last week showed that the online audience for the station had rocketed by 50% in a year.

John Peel – a Radio 1 DJ for 37 years – is lauded as one of the finest broadcasters of his generation and credited with propelling hundreds of bands to fame.

He died in 2004 but had lived for many years with his family in the village of Great Finborough, just outside Stowmarket.

There are currently plans to convert the town’s disused Corn Exchange into a creative arts centre bearing the late DJ’s name, while his widow Sheila Ravenscroft has agreed to become its honorary patron.