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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Josh Luckhurst & Paul T Smith

BBC Radio 2 fans confused as familiar voice replaces Steve Wright

BBC Radio 2 fans were left a little confused when a familiar voice was heard on the airwaves on Monday afternoon, which has replaced Steve Wright in his regular slot.

Steve Wright aired his final show - which he had hosted on the station for 24 years - on Friday, September 30.

It follows a huge reshuffle announced by the BBC, which saw a number of big name DJs get the axe or leave earlier, writes the Mirror.

Wright, 68, admitted he felt he had to make his last afternoon show on the station "a good one" as he went on the airwaves on the show for the final time. He will continue to present Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio Two and his Serious Jockin’ podcast will launch on November 4 on BBC Sounds.

Scott Mills, who spent a similar time at the helm on BBC Radio 1 in the afternoon, was announced as Wright's successor and it was presumed that he was going to take over on Monday to kick off the new era but fans were surprised when the former Strictly Come Dancing star was not on the airwaves.

Instead, it was 43-year-old radio and TV presenter OJ Borg who took over from Wright on Monday afternoon. Borg has previously filled in for Steve Wright In The Afternoon among other shows and currently has a weekday overnight programme on the station.

Many listeners were positive about Borg's interim position in the hotseat, with several fans taking to Twitter to voice their opinions on whether he should be replacing Wright and not Mills, whose start date on Radio 2 has not been confirmed yet.

One person wrote on Twitter: "You are just keeping a seat warm for a few days. I wouldn’t overplay your role. Seems you are being used to accommodate Scott having a few days off between his move."

Another said: "You deserve a better time-slot full time. You certainly seem a more popular replacement for the afternoon slot than Scott."

A third fan replied: "I really like listening to OJ. I enjoy his late-late show, but I also think he would do very well in the afternoon slot. But I imagine Scott is sat in Steve's studio, practicing his new show for the next month, which is why OJ has been pushed into Maida Vale."

Wright stressed in a heartfelt message on Twitter ahead of his final show that he was not retiring. He said: "I’d also like to clear something up. I’m not retiring!!!"

He added that he would also be presenting a special programme on Radio 2 on National Album Day (October 15) and will be returning to the network to present a number of festival specials over Christmas.

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