BBC’s Steve Wright death latest: Tributes pour in for beloved Radio DJ and Top of the Pops presenter

Steve Wright’s family confirmed his passing today.

They 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.’

Wright appeared on air on Sunday, hosting a pre-recorded special Valentine’s Day edition of his Love Songs programme.

Lovers of the radio DJ Steve Wright took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to pay tribute to the BBC star.

One of them wrote: ‘I’ve read so many tributes to Steve Wright from stars and celebrities etc but the tributes I’m sure he will love most is from his listeners.

‘When he left his afternoon show last year, I felt like I lost my afternoon. Nothing can replace his show and no one will ever be as good, RIP.’

Another penned: ‘Loved Steve Wright in the afternoon. Kept me sane during my first job after leaving school.’

A third said: ‘Sunday morning won’t be the same, so many homes would of been like me, enjoying listening to your radio show. You will be truly missed by many, RIP.’

A fourth wrote: ‘Really sad. You were the soundtrack to my school runs for years Steve. Thank you for the great music and the humour.’

Steve Wright was born in 1954 in Greenwich, south London, and started his BBC career as a clerk.

He briefly left the broadcaster in 1976 for Thames Valley Radio but returned four years later to present weekend programmes.

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.

Wright 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.

Wright continued to present Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2 and since October last year, he presented the long-running show Pick Of The Pops, which had previously been fronted by Paul Gambaccini.

A BBC star said Steve Wright was in touch with bosses at the station within just the last few days of his life.

They told the Mail: ‘Steve had been talking to Radio 2 bosses just two or three days ago… we were aware he was struggling with his health a bit but nothing that seemed this serious.

‘It has come as a huge shock. Nobody can believe it. He was engaging with his colleagues so recently. It doesn’t seem at all real.’

Steve Wright was on air Sunday, two days ago.

He shared his favourite love songs ahead of Valentine’s Day, which are set to play tomorrow.

He signed off and said: ‘I’ll be back for more love songs next Sunday.’

Janey Lee Grace told Sky news: ‘I’ve been falling apart for the last few hours since I heard the news. Steve was such an unusual character because he threw himself into everything he did.

‘He was completely charismatic, completely witty. He was just so funny. We didn’t stop laughing the 24 years we worked together.

‘He was a perfectionist. He really cared about what he put out there. He was incredibly relatable, he always fought so hard [for that] because he cared about real people.’

At the start of her slot on BBC Radio 2, Whiley said: ‘[This is] a very strange show to be doing. 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.

‘It’s very hard to find the words to say and to talk about someone in the past tense when it’s someone that you wish was very much still here. So it’s tough. The Radio 2 family are devastated.

‘There have been many tears… we’ve all worked with Steve Wright for years and years and years, and it’s just very difficult to take in that he’s no longer here.’

She added: ‘I mean, Steve was the soundtrack to our lives wasn’t he? Richard who worked with him years ago, said that Steve once said that he was radio and I think that could not be closer to the truth.

‘He lived for radio and the fact that he died but his show went out just the other day is the way he would have wanted it to be.’

Tim Davie said: ‘Steve was a truly wonderful broadcaster who has been a huge part of so many of our lives over many decades.

‘He was the ultimate professional – passionate about the craft of radio and deeply in touch with his listeners.

‘This was deservedly recognised in the New Year Honours list with his MBE for services to radio.

‘No-one had more energy to deliver shows that put a smile on audiences’ faces. They loved him deeply. We are thinking of Steve and his family and will miss him terribly.’

Wright was honoured for his services to radio in the December 2023 New Year Honours list and said he wanted to dedicate it ‘to all the people in broadcasting who gave comfort and public service during the pandemic’.

In an Instagram video, he said: ‘[Wright] was not only the best at what he did, he was basically the only at what he did.

‘There had been zoo radio in the United States with Scott Shannon, but Steve really perfected it. And he is one of the all time greats and will never be replaced, because he can never be replaced.

‘No one else here did what he did, and he did it regularly.’

He added: ‘We will love him forever.’

Wright took over from Gambaccini on BBC Radio 2’s Pick Of The Pops in October 2023 and was known for honing the zoo radio format with his show Steve Wright In The Afternoon.

‘We were all shattered in the Radio 2 family because it’s very sudden and we are beginning to hear the very last programme he recorded and that incredible life that he had, that energy in his voice is there,’ Jeremy Vine said.

‘In fact when I think about it, it always amazed me. He was my neighbour on-air at BBC Radio 2 for 20 years. He had done 20 years before that.

‘The very last show he did, which was three or four days before he died, he still had the same energy he had when he was 25.

‘He is an absolute pro, he is someone we all look up to.’

Head of BBC Radio 2, Helen Thomas, said Wright ‘understood the connection and companionship that radio engenders better than anyone, and we all loved him for it.

‘He was a consummate professional whose attention to detail was always second to none, and he made his guests laugh, he was fair, and he wanted to showcase them and their work in the best possible light, bringing brilliant stories to our listeners’, she added.

She recalled feeling ‘pure amazement’ watching him 20 years ago when he became the first presenter she produced.

‘For all of us at Radio 2, he was a wonderful colleague and a friend with his excellent sense of humour, generosity with his time, and endless wise words,’ she added.

‘We were lucky to have him with us for all these decades, and we will miss his talent and his friendship terribly.’

‘He created a kind of club which whether he was interviewing you or whether you were enjoying it as a listener, you looked forward to joining every day,’ she said.

‘It is a very rare quality, and he made it sound easy. It was frequently very funny, and when he left his daily afternoon show he really knocked a hole in the day for many of us who relied on his company.

‘He will be a real loss.’

Tony Blackburn told Sky News tonight: ‘I heard about it this afternoon and couldn’t believe it.Steve and I were great friends and he was a one-off and we got on so well together.’

He said every Sunday, ‘up until recently’ they would meet up and ‘talk complete rubbish’ together and make each other laugh.

Mr Blackburn said Steve Wright was one of his favourite DJs ‘of all time’.

‘He will be remembered as a greater broadcaster who made a lot of people very happy including myself and I will miss him very much.’