Like many of you I grew up and grew older listening to Steve Wright on the radio. His death at just 69 yesterday was something I regret and he will be missed. The Mrs. and I still listened to his Sunday morning love songs show. Whether it was right to lead the News last night was Wright’s passing is a matter for debate. My instinct is that the troubles of the Labour Party in Rochdale, events in Gaza and the imminent fall of “fortress” Avdiivka in Ukraine where a couple of thousand Ukrainian troops were cut off yesterday were bigger stories.
But what struck me was the way that the BBC lined up colleagues and managers including Director General Tim Davie to praise him and say how irreplaceable he was. But that begs the enormous question of why the BBC sacked him from his weekday showon Radio 2 last year replacing him with Scott Mills who has seen his audience shrink from the Wright days from Day one. It was a question that nobody asked or answered yesterday.
Wright, like Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo was considered too old, white, make and straight. So he was replaced by someone who was younger and gay and not half as talented. Wright was clearly wounded by that but opted to stay at the BBC with his Sunday show. Mayo and Bruce are now at Greatest Hits which has picked up millions of new listeners including myself.
The BBC coverage of Wright’s sad demise was incomplete and embarrassing