Jeremy Vine and Jo Whiley have led tributes to Steve Wright as it was announced that his BBC Radio 2 afternoon show was coming to an end after 24 years.
On Friday (1 July), the radio DJ announced that his weekday slot was being taken over by Radio 1’s Scott Mills after station head Helen Thomas told him she “wanted to do something different” with the afternoon show.
The news was met with disappointment by Radio 2 listeners, many of whom called it a “terrible decision”.
Meanwhile, radio’s most famous voices praised Wright for his long-standing work at the station, calling him “one of the greatest radio voices of all time”.
“Steve Wright… Innovator, entertainer, complete and utter professional,” Jeremy Vine tweeted.
“Such a pleasure to work alongside him, such a great person to have a laugh with, bought me a pair of ‘radio slippers’ when he caught me ogling his. [Heart emoji] this guy.”
Jo Whiley shared Vine’s post, adding: “Everything Jeremy says here. Steve has been such a lovely friend and mentor to me at Radio 2. I’m going to miss him a great deal. Not sure anyone loves radio more than Wrighty.”
Tony Blackburn wrote: “One of the funniest and nicest persons I’ve ever known, we chat complete nonsense for a long time before my Golden Hour every Friday. He’s also one of the best DJs ever. So glad he’s staying with us @BBCRadio2 he’s too good to not be with us.”
In a separate tweet, he continued: “Just want to say the respect I have for Steve Wright @BBCRadio2 I love the guy and he’s dedicated to radio. I’ve seen the effort and passion he gives to the show, in-fact that show is him. I love his company. He’s a nice guy and a complete one off.”
James O’Brien wrote: “You can count on one finger the number of radio broadcasters who have been as consistently brilliant as Steve Wright over such a long period of time. Legend.”
Nicky Campbell tweeted: “I’ve known Steve Wright for 35 years. When I joined Radio One I was in awe. Who wouldn’t be? He’s a Radio Genius. He was kind and supportive. I was a colleague for years and am proud to be a friend. His new projects will be gold standard. That’s what he does.”
“Well, now. This is ravens leaving the Tower level stuff,” Chris Addison wrote. “I always loved going on Steve Wright’s show. You could see the hard work he and his team put into every bit of it. Quite something to witness.”
Wright has said that he will be remaining at the BBC to work on other projects, including a podcast series. He will continue to present Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs on the same station.
