BBC Radio 2 presenter David Jacobs dies

BBC Radio 2 presenter David Jacobs has died at the age of 87, after a BBC television and radio career spanning seven decades.

David stepped down from his BBC Radio 2 show last month due to ill health and was surrounded by his family at home when he died, the BBC has said.

His last show was broadcast on 4 August 2013. He said, “I will not stop collecting but my sadness will be that I cannot share them with all my loyal listeners. But rest assured, I will be back from time to time.”

When Radio 1 launched in 1967 David had a late programme on Sundays. Though a Radio 1 show, this was broadcast on Radios 1 and 2 and consisted of easy listening music and interviews with guests. Between January 1985 and December 1991, Jacobs presented a daily lunchtime programme on Radio 2 of what he characterised as “our kind of music”, much of it popular tunes from musical theatre.

Speaking in July, David said: “Over the past two years Radio 2 has given me time to be treated for liver cancer and Parkinson’s Disease. My Producer, Alan Boyd, has been a tower of strength in so many ways and I thank him profusely. We shared a love of so many records and wonderful music.

“I will not stop collecting but my sadness will be that I cannot share them with all my loyal listeners. But rest assured, I will be back from time to time.”

Tributes have already been made on Twitter, with former colleague Tony Blackburn saying: “Very sad to hear that David Jacobs has passed away,another great broadcaster no longer with us. I’m proud to have known him.RIP David.”

BBC 6 Music presenter Shaun Keaveny said: “David Jacobs was a truly lovely man, great broadcaster. All our love to him and his family x”

BBC director general Tony Hall said he was “one of the great broadcast personalities”.

“As a young and avid viewer of Jukebox Jury, I remember him every week scoring the hits and misses,” he said.

“And I was still listening to him just last month as he fronted his show The David Jacobs Collection on Radio 2. We shall all miss him tremendously.”

David was best known for his television work having started on the BBC presenting Juke Box Jury from 1959 to 1967 and was an original presenter on Top of the Pops. He had, between 1957 and 1961, established the chart show format of the Light Programme’s Pick of the Pops, to which he briefly returned in 1962.