GREG James emotionally paid tribute to the late Steve Wright with a massive BBC Radio 1 shake up this morning.
The veteran BBC radio broadcaster passed away aged 69 on Monday, with his death viewed by colleagues as “very, very sudden”.
During today’s Radio 1 Breakfast show, host Greg James played Steve’s theme tune in memory of his predecessor, who fronted the programme between 1994 and 1995.
He told viewers: “It was only gonna be one song to start. Loved the show, Steve.”
It is not currently clear what the radio legend’s health battle was.
He was due to be part of BBC Radio’s plans to launch four new stations over the airwaves.
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Jo Whiley said it felt “very strange” to be doing a tribute show to Steve given she had seen him “only days ago”.
“(This is) a very strange show to be doing,” she said.
“It’s extremely hard to know what to say and to be talking about someone that you saw only days ago in this very studio where I am right now – doing a tribute show to that person just does not feel right.”
His friend and long-time BBC radio colleague Ken Bruce said he was “totally shocked” by the news as he revealed they were planning to celebrate Steve’s “richly deserved” MBE with a lunch in the near future.
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“An outstanding and innovative broadcaster whose listeners loved him. What a loss to the world of radio,” he added.
Steve lost 20 per cent of the hearing in his right ear after prodding it with a birthday cake candle at the age of ten.
And he suffered from a hereditary inflammation of the eyelids, which gave the appearance that he was tired.
At school Steve faced cruel taunts about his appearance.
He once said: “In my teens I was known as Concorde, on account of my big hooter.”
Steve joined the BBC in the 1970s, going on to host shows on BBC Radio 1 and 2 for more than four decades which attracted millions of listeners.
He was also a long-standing presenter of Top Of The Pops on BBC One.
A statement shared to the broadcaster by Steve’s family said: “It is with deep sorrow and profound regret that we announce the passing of our beloved Steve Wright.
“In addition to his son, Tom, and daughter, Lucy, Steve leaves behind his brother, Laurence and his father Richard.
“Also, much-loved close friends and colleagues, and 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.
“As we all grieve, the family requests privacy at this immensely difficult time.”
The broadcaster joined BBC Radio 1 in 1980 to host a Saturday evening show before moving on to host Steve Wright In The Afternoon a year later until 1993.
Steve then fronted the Radio 1 Breakfast show for a year until 1995, and completed a stint at commercial radio stations before returning to BBC Radio 2 in 1996 to host Steve Wright’s Saturday Show and Sunday Love Songs.
In 1999, he recreated Steve Wright In The Afternoon every weekday on Radio 2, with celebrity interviews and entertaining trivia featured in his Factoids segment, before stepping down in September 2022.
Former BBC Radio 1 host Scott Mills took over the afternoon slot as part of the station’s schedule shake-up.
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Steve continued to present Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2 and from October last year, he presented the long-running show Pick Of The Pops, which had previously been fronted by Paul Gambaccini.
Steve appeared on air on Sunday, hosting a pre-recorded special Valentine’s Day edition of his Love Songs programme.
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