Steve Wright, presenter of the afternoon programme on BBC Radio 2, is getting ready to say a tearful goodbye to his audience today as his 23-year run comes to an end.
The veteran DJ, 68, disclosed earlier this year that his program, Steve Wright in the Afternoon, had been canceled as part of what was reportedly a BBC initiative to lower the average age of the station’s major presenters.
‘I wanted to convey my deepest appreciation to everyone who has taken the effort to listen over the last 23 years,’ he said on Radio 2’s social media sites before his farewell performance.
I would want to express what a delight it has been to provide you with fantastic discourse, education, entertainment, high humor, and, of course, amazing guests.
He did, however, add, “I’m not retiring!” Every weekend, Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs may be heard on Radio 2.
Following his departure from Radio 1 last month, Scott Mills will take up the afternoon time slot.
Wright said, “I am taking a vacation from daytime radio and will continue at Radio 2,” in regard to his future.
Serious Jockin’ will continue to air on BBC Sounds, while Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs will continue to air on Radio 2 every weekend. I’ll also be going a little more digital with a podcast.
Since 1999, Wright has hosted Steve Wright in the Afternoon at 2pm on the network. He also hosts Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs.
He continued by saying that in addition to hosting a special show on Radio 2 on National Album Day, he will return to the network to host a variety of festival-themed programs throughout the Christmas holiday.
Mills, 49, joined the BBC in 1998 and hosted the BBC Radio 1 morning program until 2004. He then moved to a Saturday afternoon time slot for a period of six months.
He co-hosted the Scott Mills program on Radio 1 from noon to four o’clock with co-host Chris Stark until his departure in August, and he has also hosted The Official Chart Show on Fridays since 2018.
As Stark, who also left Radio 1 last month, joins the Capital Breakfast Program, Mills will move to Radio 2 to host a new weekday show.
It happens as the “old guard” Radio 2 presenters are leaving in droves. In order to lure “Gen Z” and draw in younger listeners, experts allege that BBC executives are displacing older “baby-boomer” DJs in favor of personalities like Scott Mills and Michelle Visage from RuPaul Drag Race.
After Paul O’Grady, 67, announced his resignation from Radio 2 as a result of a reorganization that saw him divide his Sunday evening program with comedian Rob Beckett, incensed supporters accused the BBC of ageism.
Meanwhile DJ Tony Blackburn, 79, seemed to blame ageism for the BBC’s “weird” decision to shift his Radio 2 program in June, claiming in a post on social media that “there’s a lot of it around.”
Blackburn discovered that beginning in mid-July, his Golden Hour program will air at the same time on Sundays instead of at 7 p.m. on Fridays.
On Twitter, Blackburn criticized the “wacky” choice, and program viewers hastened to defend the former Radio 1 DJ. One person said that by altering the schedule, the BBC was “making a lot of blunders.”
The elimination of Craig Charles’ Saturday House Party as part of broader adjustments to Radio 2’s schedule includes the Golden Hour alteration.
New programs from DJ Spoony, Waterloo Road actor Angela Griffin, and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK judge Michelle Visage will air on the channel.
According to a source within the industry, “a lot of dissatisfied DJs are now as a consequence.”
In the meanwhile, Radio 1’s Drivetime anchor Nick Grimshaw left the station last year after 14 years there as part of the most recent “diverse” lineup change.
The 37-year-old host, who started working for BBC Radio 1 in September 2007, hung up his microphone, and Vick Hope and Jordan North took over.
The announcement that Annie Mac will be departing after 17 years to be replaced by Clara Amfo was made in April.