Steve Wright - made in Reading
The broadcaster began his career at the Calcot studios of Radio 210 in 1976
Radio broadcaster Steve Wright, one of the most familiar voices on the airwaves in the UK, has died at the age of 69.
Wright began his career in 1976 at Radio 210 in Reading.
He last appeared on air on Sunday, hosting a pre-recorded special Valentine’s Day edition of his Love Songs programme on Radio 2.
A statement shared to the broadcaster by Wright’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.”
Career
Born in Greenwich, London in 1954, Wright’s career at the BBC began when he started working as a clerk. He later left in 1976 to begin his broadcasting career at Radio 210 in Reading.
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 acclaimed radio DJ Paul Gambaccini.
He was made an MBE 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”.
Tributes
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 Wright’s “richly deserved” MBE with a lunch in the near future in a tribute post on social media.
“An outstanding and innovative broadcaster whose listeners loved him. What a loss to the world of radio,” he added.
In a heartfelt video message shared to Instagram, Gambaccini recalled writing: “If you want to hear the first radio star of the radio 1980s, listen to Steve Wright” in his column in the Radio Times many years ago.
He added alongside the post: “We will love you forever. We will miss you.”
David Addis, who worked with Steve at Radio 210 in Reading, said he was always destined to be successful: "very early on the eccentric owner of the radio station paired him up with Mike Read and of course that gave us 'Read and Wright' and the two of them were brilliant together and it was very clear to all of us there that they weren't going to be at that radio station for very long they were destined for higher and better things."