Child 2 is proper poorly and asked me to read some Harry Potter. 2 chapters of Chamber of Secrets went down a treat. Did the accents and everything. More tonight.
Child 2 is 28.
So farewell Steve Wright in the Afternoon. Shows of a staggeringly high standard, day after a day, year after year, from a brilliant operator and one of the hardest workers I’ve met.
Loved the show Steve.
I have, rather wonderfully, spent Father’s Day becoming a grandfather. Or (as they say in Denmark) bedstefar (you don’t pronounce the ‘d’). Welcome Oscar. May you be a blessing.
An ex-Radio 2 host writes...
So thank you all for all the wonderful comments here. Quite moved by it all. I’ve done a daily national BBC show for 31 years solid so this might take a while to adjust to...anyway the new radio show will be announced in January. It will be startling.
So this happened. Prince William did the pinning. A class act! We talked about Radio 1 and how he loved Faithless/Insomnia and Spiller/Groovejet. I suggested that’s he was clearly a bit of a clubber…
Some news. I am very excited to announce that on March 15 I shall be returning to Drivetime, across the UK on Greatest Hits Radio. It’s a show I love and it feels as though we have unfinished business! Matt Williams will be on sport of course (who else).
Very saddened today to hear about the death of Janice Long. Followed her to R1, R2 and GHR. She maintained her extraordinary enthusiasm for the music she played on every show she presented. RIP.
A brief PS to yesterday’s fun and games. Thank you for all the comments here, I’m quite overwhelmed. It’s been wonderful to hear from so many listeners, colleagues and friends. I’ve read them all (I think) and really appreciated every one. Planning a quieter day today.
We’ve been keeping a big secret … We are delighted to announce that legendary broadcaster
@RealKenBruce
will be joining the Greatest Hits Radio family in April.
So. A few things to say. Very sadly, I have decided to move on from Radio 2. Sad to leave the show, sad to leave Jo, sad to leave Wogan House (I thought I’d be dragged out aged 120). But circumstances change...
Very sorry to hear this. Sending every best wish. The radio will be a poorer place without him
He will step down from Sounds of the 70s and The Rock Show at the end of this month due to ill health.
Source: BBC News
So the secret is out and I said it might be somewhat startling (wait, what?) Scala Radio is the rather fabulous and sparkly new classical music station for the UK. Launch date is March 4th and my show will be 10am-1pm.
@ScalaRadio
He had a stage presence which filled our tiny 5Live studio. He had grace, humour and a fierce intelligence. His last answer on Scorsese was a soliloquy.
#chadwickbosemanRIP
Well what with one thing and another, it’s been quite a year. Thanks for messages of support and in the words of
@smithandburrows
let’s hope the next beats the last. Happy 2019 y’all!
Good morning. In case you’ve been waiting. And in case you need it. Confessions will be back on your radio in March on
@ScalaRadio
and here’s the email confessions
@scalaradio
.co.uk
Getting closer!
Delighted to announce that I’ll be starting my own book club soon. I’ve been keen to keep my association with new authors and wonderful books so the
@BooksOfTheYear
podcast will kick off shortly. I hope you love it. More info shortly!
I'm a committed Radio 3 listener, but when Simon Mayo
starts at the new classical music station Scala I'll be tuning in. How could my employers, the BBC, have let him slip from their grasp?
Saw the Pogues at Rock City in Nottingham 1985. Mentioned them the following morning on the show I was doing on Radio Nottingham . They heard it, turned up in reception and invited themselves on. Loved them from then.
Thank you Shane.
400+ radio stations in UK and only 2 of them are classical. Time for a change! Our whole approach to this will be different. Scala will be an entertainment station. Guests, features, (confessions seems a good idea to me) and some of that all-request magic too.
@ScalaRadio
Some of the abuse she has had here has been appalling. Support for a show is one thing, assaulting the dignity of a warm-hearted and loyal friend is another.
Introducing Ken Bruce MBE. ⚡️
We're so proud of
@RealKenBruce
and his contribution to broadcasting, charity and autism awareness - and couldn't be any happier to have him as part of our Greatest Hits Radio family.
Learn more here:
So you can find
@ScalaRadio
on your DAB Radio (might have to do that autotune if it doesn’t find it first time). Or download the app. Or go online. Or shout at your smart speaker. Or I can come round it it’s easier...
One other thing. Maybe it needs to be said, maybe not but so there is no room for argument I’ll be clear. I’ve loved working with the exceptional Jo Whiley and when the show was ‘reconfigured ‘ she was my first and only choice.
I’ll continue with the (flagship) film show on 5Live with Mark Kermode and, beyond that, other radio adventures beckon! But for now it’s just the sadness of leaving. Radio 2 has been a wonderful place for me-my happiest radio I think. Our listeners are really quite extraordinary.
I’ve spent the last 2 years writing and talking about Dartmoor Prison, the setting for Mad Blood Stirring (set in 1815). Well this morning, I’m there-inside these walls. Same talk but this time it’s to the present day prisoners. Exited and nervous in equal measure.
So by all means discuss what’s happening here, but let’s keep some civility. Thank you. Here endeth the lesson. And (one very final thing), as anyone who has worked here will attest, the producers and APs are a class apart. Brilliant production teams make our jobs a joy.
After 21 years (and as many drummers) the Flagship Film Show
@wittertainment
will make its final 5Live voyage on April 1st.
But like Tap, we’ll be back …
Stay tuned.
Long live Wittertainment.
New show update. Thanks for the overwhelming response to news of the return of Drivetime on
@greatesthitsuk
. It really has been quite overwhelming.
@Mattm_Williams
and I are chomping at the bit. More to follow.
For your diary then. 4pm March 15th.
An amazing performer. Just watching his show was breathtaking. Even when carts and cart machines were extinct, he would not let them go. A fabulous creative whirlwind of a presenter.