After eight-and-a-half long years, like a pub garden Berlusconi, Moylesy has finally relinquished his control over the morning airwaves. His successor couldn't be more different. Nick Grimshaw may be white and male but he is under 30, friends with half of London's biggest scenesters, and has never been called racist by Halle Berry. Perhaps the BBC is wising up to the fact that Radio 1's target listenership (15- to 29-year-olds) are yearning for personalities they can relate to. If Auntie's interested in making more than a token gesture, mainstream youth radio could find itself a new voice.

One such candidate might be Monki, a 20-year-old firecracker with a bag full of club-focused big hitters, a slot on Rinse FM, and a DJ who's surely waiting for the moment Vernon Kaye, Scott Mills and their Snow Patrol records move to Radio 2. Rinse has played a major role in pioneering dubstep, grime and garage in the past decade. In Monki, it's also found a natural broadcasting talent.

Monki, real name Lucy Monkman, has been a regular fixture at the station since the end of 2010. She fostered a love of late-night specialist radio shows from her suburban bedroom, ditching her A-levels to pursue a radio career. On her show she plays back-to-back eclectic electronica, swooping from TEED to Drums Of Death to Jessie Ware. She's laidback, knowledgable and not afraid to sound serious when talking about her specialist subject. She's also one of only a handful of female presenters at the station and is determined to hold her own: "I don't think that I should be good 'for a girl'. I just have to be good."

Monki started life at Rinse as the unpaid intern: "On my first day I was literally picking up decks and moving them across a car park." Before long, the station's founder Geeneus had offered up her first big break. She was thrown into a studio and told she had two hours to impress. "I don't think I spoke for the first 30 minutes," she says. Now she hosts the Saturday early evening show.

She caught the attention of Annie Mac, who invited her to sit in on her Radio 1 show, and has offered her a space firmly under her wing. It seems no coincidence that Monki's career aspirations mirror those of her mentor; she's a club DJ too, and has recently started her own label, Zoo Music. Her eagerness to diversify finds her among a new-school breed of radio personalities who are taking a more holistic approach to their careers: see also Toddla T, Rinse's Elijah and Skilliam, or Moxie over at NTS Radio.

Here's hoping that the Beeb continues to seek out those who have the inclination for midweek partying so they can report from the coalface of under-30s pursuits, freeing up the ageing "Comedy" Dave and his ilk for voiceover jobs and guest slots on Top Gear.