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BBC presenters pay tribute to fellow DJ who hosted shows for ‘millions of devoted radio listeners’ for more than four decades
Sara Cox fought back tears as she spoke about the news of Steve Wright’s death live on BBC Radio 2.
The 49-year-old DJ paid an emotional tribute to her late colleague as she told listeners of his sudden death at the age of 69.
Wright was one of the BBC’s longest-serving presenters, hosting shows on Radio 1 and Radio 2 for more than four decades. He was last on air on Sunday with a pre-recorded Valentine’s special, in which he promised listeners he would be back next week.
Cox, who presents Radio 2’s drive-time show, told listeners on Tuesday afternoon: “It’s really hard to know what to say about the news of Steve Wright’s passing, except we are all absolutely devastated, shocked and blindsided by this news.
“Steve was an extraordinary broadcaster, a really, really kind person, he was witty, he was warm and he was a huge, huge part of the Radio 2 family.”
Her voice quivering, she added: “I know my fellow DJs will all be absolutely shattered too.”
The first that Radio 2 listeners heard of Wright’s death was when Bobbie Pryor, the station’s mainstay travel reporter, struggled to finish her travel bulletin before breaking down in tears shortly after 5.15pm on Tuesday.
“Steve would kill me for this if I was in tears,” Pryor said. “It’s really difficult isn’t it.”
Cox then sought to comfort her and announced the news to listeners, saying: “We’ve just had the stuffing knocked out of us, haven’t we. If you’ve just joined us I don’t know if you’ve heard about the passing of our dear colleague Steve Wright so we’re all a bit of a mess.”
Wright’s family released a statement on Tuesday announcing the death of their “beloved Steve” and spoke of “the millions of devoted radio listeners who had the good fortune and great pleasure of allowing Steve into their daily lives as one of the UK’s most enduring and popular radio personalities”.
On Tuesday morning, more BBC radio presenters took to the airwaves to pay heartfelt tributes to the DJ.
Nicky Campbell, the BBC Radio 5 Live breakfast presenter, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “He was such good company, he was so, so funny and had a waspish wit and was a delicious gossip – he used to gossip about this place all the time, he loved the BBC but – and this might resonate with you, all of you – he was so exasperated and frustrated with it sometimes.”
Jo Whiley, who presents an evening show on Radio 2, said: “I’ve never felt it more than I did last night, I went to Maida Vale because we’re all doing our shows from there at the moment, and it was less than a week ago that I was sitting in my studio talking to Steve.
“So it’s really bizarre sitting there yesterday looking through the glass and expecting to see him and he was working on his Love Songs show this time last week … yesterday evening I was doing my show and some of the studio managers were there who were some of his posse, the afternoon boys 40 years ago, and we were all broken and in tears but also reliving all the memories.”
Wright joined Radio 1 in 1980 and presented his Steve Wright in the Afternoon show from 1981-93, pioneering the “zoo format” that would be much copied.
He moved to Radio 2 in 1996 and hosted the afternoon slot for 24 years. But he was removed in 2022 as the station aimed to attract a younger audience.
Wright remained as the host of Sunday Love Songs and became the presenter of Pick of the Pops. He was awarded an MBE in the 2024 New Year Honours list for services to radio.
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