Three special programmes paying tribute to Steve Wright will be aired on Bank Holiday Monday on would have been his 70th birthday.
Presented by Vernon Kay, Liza Tarbuck and Paul Gambaccini, the programmes will celebrate Steve’s life and career.
Steve Wright Remembered, presented by Vernon Kay, will air 2-4pm, featuring friends from the worlds of entertainment, broadcasting and beyond sharing their memories of Steve. Contributors include David Cameron, Richard Curtis, Dawn French, Emma Freud, Barry Gibb, Peter Kay, Billy Ocean, and Will Young.
Vernon says: “Steve Wright was The Don of UK radio, the master of his craft and an absolute perfectionist, researching each guest meticulously to ensure he had the right question at the right time.
“He put his guests at ease and, by doing so, teased out never heard before anecdotes and facts from them.
“Steve was always putting smiles on the faces of his guests as well as his listeners, so it’s an honour to present this celebratory programme, where we’ll hear tributes from some of the Big Show’s most famous guests.”
What Steve Meant To Me …A Listeners’ Special, with Liza Tarbuck will air live 4-6pm, giving listeners a chance to share their own memories of listening to Steve’s shows on Radio 1 and Radio 2.
Liza says: “Steve Wright was a broadcasting legend who broke fresh ground throughout his career and remains an inspiration to us all. T
“To celebrate what would have been his 70th birthday, we want to offer a salute to this unique man who spent so much of his life making sure everyone had a better day.
“We have stories from all sorts of people who knew and worked with him, and we’d love to hear yours. It promises to be a gorgeous show. See you there.”
Paul Gambaccini introduces Steve Wright In His Own Words airing 6-8pm. The programme features recordings of Steve from the BBC archive talking about his career, broadcasters who inspired him, and some the records he loved.
There will be excerpts from Steve’s episode of the award-winning Radio Radio series which aired in 1986, plus a 2010 interview, much of it previously un-broadcast, for the Radio 2 series ‘Music in the Air: A History of Music Radio’.
Steve also talks about his early love for offshore pirate radio in the 1960s and his admiration for Kenny Everett, Rick Dees and Scott Shannon.
Paul says: “I recognised in Steve one of the true ‘lifers’. Somebody who had dedicated his whole life to radio. He cared about it. And, of course, Steve just kept doing the work for decades.
“He never got tired of thinking of a new programme and when that programme was over, he started thinking about the next one. Radio was his life and that is why we are so pleased to salute the life of Steve Wright.”
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