Steve Wright death: BBC DJ found dead ‘by paramedics at home’ as police say death ‘not suspicious’

Kevin E G Perry has paid tribute to Wright, calling him “a friend you only had to switch on your radio to summon”.

Perry writes: “In September 2022, when Steve Wright signed off from his final afternoon show on Radio 2, he did it with good humour and characteristic charm. ‘Last show,’ he said as it opened. ‘Bit of pressure. Got to make it a good one, everybody.’

“It was hard to imagine that Wright, who has died at the age of 69, was really feeling the pressure. After all, he had spent 40 years on daytime national radio, redefining the medium on BBC Radio One before moving to Radio 2 for another 23 years as the nation’s constant and beloved companion, a wild, joyful friend you only had to switch on your radio to summon.”

Read The Independent’s full tribute to the late radio icon here:

He was his jolly self as he cracked jokes in between songs and hummed along to their tunes.

At the end of the show, the radio legend signed off by saying: “That’s it today for Love Songs.“

“I’ll be back for more love songs next Sunday. Ta-ra then.”

Wright played a selection of romantic hits from the Sixties through to the present day, including Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want to Be With You”, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton’s “Islands in the Stream” and “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran.

Radio 2 DJ Jo Whiley said it was “very strange” to be talking about Steve Wright’s death after seeing him just “days ago”.

At the start of her show on Tuesday, she said it was “extremely hard to know what to say”.

“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,” she added.

“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.”

Dermot O’Leary, who has been at Radio 2 for almost two decades, called Wright “kind”, adding on ITV’s This Morning: “I’ll never forget, within my first week, it felt like you’re joining a family.

“People who had no reason to went out of their way, these you know, proper titans of broadcast, went out of the way to make sure you’re welcome. Just go, ‘Hello, young man. How’s it going? You’re doing so well’.

“The pep talk… Just genuinely a really inclusive guy when he really didn’t have to be.”

Speaking on Wednesday’s episode of This Morning, Noel Edmonds said: “Steve was one of those very small band – [Terry] Wogan being one of them – who was a brilliant communicator.

“The thing about being a communicator is you are born with it, you can’t fake it. The microphone or the camera will find you if you are trying to be something you’re not and I think the reason why so many people are genuinely distressed by this premature departure is that Steve was a friend, because he could communicate.”

He added: “I mourn the passing of this great talent, this marvellous man. He had integrity, he had sincerity, he had this incredible commitment to the people he would never meet. We are unfortunately coming,

“I think, to the end of that radio era, so please cherish the Ken Bruces and the Tony Blackburns and the Gambos. Cherish them, because we’re coming to the end of an era.”

BBC Radio 2 host Jo Whiley has shared a sweet anecdote about Steve Wright’s generosity that she said “sums him up”.

Whiley shared a picture of Wright standing next to the BBC Radio logo, as she recalled an occasion when the radio host went out of his way to give her sister Frances – who is a huge fan of Wright’s work – a personalised Christmas present.

“Just this Xmas I asked [Wright] to record a message for my sister Frances who is obsessed with Pick of The Pops and therefore Steve himself. He didn’t just send a message – he recorded a personalised mini package for her… jingles and all.”

Whiley added that her sister was delighted and listened to the recording “over a hundred million times during the course of Xmas day”.

On Radio X, Moyles paid tribute to his mentor Steve Wright.

“Cheers, Steve, for everything, we lost you too soon. I can’t quite comprehend I’ll never talk to him again.”