ByCandice Krieger, Candice Krieger
Heart 106.2 DJ Natalie Besbrode — aka Natalie B — is using her radio prowess to get more involved in the Jewish community.
“I am on a big journey,” Miss Besbrode, 30, tells People.
“It is very music-focused at Heart so I am independently using my skills to help the community and get involved in interfaith dialogue.” She recently DJ-ed at the Jewish Care ball and has been working with the Jewish Community Centre for London to create a series of podcasts focusing on Jewish identity. Miss Besbrode is currently in Israel — her first time to the Holy Land — working on the initiative. “The main thing is capturing what young Jewish people are doing. It is all about finding and tracing roots.” She adds: “I guess I am rediscovering my Jewish roots through radio.”
Miss Besbrode, who is about to take over the Sunday 6am to 9am breakfast slot, also reads the 90-minute monthly audio magazine Sounds Jewish to people with hearing difficulties.
Originally from Nottingham, Miss Besbrode moved to London in September last year to pursue her radio career. She previously presented The Late Show on Heart 106 in the East Midlands.
She has also had stints at County Sound in Guildford and Bright 106.4 in West Sussex, and presented the mid-morning show at Juice 107.2 in Brighton.
She says her passion for radio began when she worked on hospital radio in Epsom.
You can currently hear her at Heart 106.2 at the weekends.
Home is in Child’s Hill, North London.