Editorial strategy pays off for R2; Radio Two scores its biggest audience to date, while in London, Heart narrows gap on Capital.(Radio)

Radio Two controller Lesley Douglas was sharing coffee and biscuits with a group of programme producers at Broadcasting House when the latest radio audience figures were being announced.

Douglas had called the meeting to gather ideas on how to cement the network's position as the country's most popular radio station.

Radio Two has thrived in recent years by producing innovative editorial content linked to most genres of music. And its rigid playlist policy based on the principle that the strength of a song is more important to the listeners than the reputation of a particular artist has gradually won over even the most sceptical record company executive.

The in-house and independent producers who met with Douglas last Thursday can be under no illusions of what is expected of them. Radio Two reversed a small first quarter decline to post a record audience of 13.4m during the second three-month period, up more than 400,000 on a year ago, with its share stable at 16.2%.

These are big numbers, but Douglas appreciates the need to keep the output fresh. "The secret is to have an on-going dialogue with producers and the record industry so everyone understands what interests our audience and what works," she says. "Our music policy is all about melody and accessibility, and the strength of the British music scene at the moment with artists such as Keane is a real gift to a station like Radio Two."

The performances of Johnnie Walker at drivetime and Terry Wogan at breakfast were two highlights. Walker returned to the airwaves in March after recovering from illness and his audience topped 5m for the first time. Wogan, meanwhile, still reaches almost 8m adults a week and remains king of breakfast, despite the aggressive marketing activity by many other stations to win early morning listeners.

More than 27% of UK adults tune in to the radio between 6am and 10am on weekdays, and Radio One has never been shy to go on the offensive to will breakfast listeners. Chris Moyles has added 400,000 listeners to the slot since he replaced Sara Cox and he reaches around 6m people a week, although 140,000 who were listening in quarter one have since turned off.