Programme maker for
@BBCRadio2
since 1999, mainly with the G.O.A.T, Steve Wright 🧡 The sole Producer of Elaine Paige On Sunday for the past 11 years ❤️
It’s been a difficult week, but the flood of tributes, and messages, has been a huge comfort. Thank you. Also comforting is the prospect of Liza Tarbuck presenting a special Sunday Love Songs this week. She and Steve were like kindred spirits, so it’s fitting
#SteveWright
Layton’s drive & dignity, Bobby being such an outward looker at just 20, Johannes’ kind & gentle footprint on Annabel’s life, Ellie’s unfaltering dance prowess… and Vito talking utter cobblers to Claudia, queen of cobblers talk 😍 Thank you
#Strictly
what a series! 🪩
Too many episodes of The Big Show and Love Songs to remember, two factoids books together, and it all ends one Tuesday afternoon out of the blue. I can’t believe it. Thank you for everything, from the bottom of my heart. You are British radio. And you are Radio 2.
#SteveWright
We’re a team at
@BBCRadio2
- and to see
@jowhiley
& her family go through such an ordeal this past week has been awful. Today’s news that Jo’s beloved sister Frances has moved forward in her CV19 recovery is AMAZING - as is the 💉 priority change that Jo has helped bring about 🧡
Terry Wogan’s son Mark has taken delivery of a Wogan House plaque from
@BBCRadio2
🧡 As he says on Instagram, a little piece of history for the family to keep 🧡 This gives me all the feels… for Terry, Steve Wright, and all the fun we all had there 🥹
Thinking of
@Nicki_Chapman
as she gets behind the wheel of the juggernaut that is Sunday Love Songs this weekend. No one can fill Steve Wright’s loafers… but as it’s one of the most warm-hearted shows on
@BBCRadio2
, with the loveliest listeners, Nicki is ideal xx
STEVE WRIGHT to leave afternoons on
@BBCRadio2
. Have worked with him since the 90s; producer of The Big Show for 8 years, and still on it ad hoc now. His contribution to our station’s ravin’ success is beyond measure. Thank you Wrighty for being the soundtrack to our lives 💙
So there’s a place in Australia called MARYBOROUGH..
Where MARY POPPINS author PL TRAVERS was born..
AND IT HAS THESE TRAFFIC LIGHTS!!!!
Close your mouth please, we are not a codfish!
#MaryPoppinsReturns
☂️
So STEVE WRIGHT IN THE AFTERNOON ends. Every cup of tea I’ve ever made for you Steve, I would make again in a heartbeat. I owe you my career. Barry From Watford, The Old Woman, Ask Elvis, The Big Quiz, Factoids, Serious Jockin’… Thanks for all the fun old friend. We love you 🫶🏽
CONGRATULATIONS to
@mrmichaelball
… just announced as the permanent new host of Sunday Love Songs 🧡 He is a much loved swan in the
@BBCRadio2
flock 🧡 He loves the station, the listeners, and the music 🧡 And Steve loved him, too 🧡
CONGRATULATIONS to
@tonyblackburn
who received his OBE at Windsor Castle today 👏🏽 It would be lovely to have a similar photo of Steve Wright, who should have been doing the same 😪 He’d have joked about Febrezing his suit and inking in his hair especially 🥸😘
Great to hear STEVE WRIGHT’S
@BBCRadio2
bank holiday special this afternoon. Fresh yet familiar, content-heavy, production-heavy, jingle-tastic, the tracks he knows are ‘radio records’… you’ve still got it old bean x
Love & luck to
@ClaudiaWinkle
as she launches her brand new
@BBCRadio2
Saturday show tomorrow. She will do wild wit, warmth, candour, eyeliner, humility, homemade muffins & clever, clever chat all at the same time, and she should be worshipped unconditionally 🙃🧡
#TeamClaud
What an INCREDIBLE year...
THAT ballad in Waitress
THAT ensemble in Come From Away
THAT magic in Poppins
THAT sass in & Juliet
THAT dead guy in Beetlejuice
THAT wedding ring in Cats 😺
Sorry not sorry don’t lose ur head!
All on
@elaine_paige
Review of 2019
@BBCRadio2
1pm
We’ve gone about
@BBCRadio2
today with heavy hearts, especially sad for Malcolm whose producer-presenter relationship with Paul was underscored with such love. ‘Remembering Paul O’Grady’ is now on
@BBCSounds
… hopefully it will bring back fond memories for Paul’s many fans 🧡
Listening to the superb
#LizaTarbuck
on
@BBCRadio2
and recalling her last text to me which was about how Steve Wright had gone quiet regarding the tin of Spam she’d gaffer-taped under his desk so he’d keep banging his knee 😄
So
#TheGreatestShow
got 4.1 MILLION VIEWERS... and it topped the
@BBCiPlayer
chart.
TV music shows usually average around 3m. The Harry Styles special did about 2m.
24 carat proof that the British public loves & misses theatre with every bit of its heart 🧡
#SaveTheArts
STEVE WRIGHT’S MBE is so deserved
He’s said it’s for everyone in broadcasting who gave comfort & service in the pandemic
His ‘Love Songs’ was my only show in that period
I found it hard - and he’d say to me “We’re paid for when life goes wrong”
He is utterly devoted 🎙️💙
Nothing is so good it lasts eternally, Perfect situations must go wrong 🎶
Well, they didn’t, and today marks 10 YEARS of me producing
@elaine_paige
On Sunday
I can honestly say I’ve given it my absolute all. Huge love and thanks to Elaine. She is the reason ❤️
Late in 2012 the then Head of Programmes at
@BBCRadio2
called me into his office and told me he wanted me to take over producing
@elaine_paige
On Sunday. I asked to go away and think about it as I wasn’t sure I could cut the mustard 🌾 Today is my 11th anniversary on the show ❤️
After 16 years at
@BBCRadio2
, today is
@ClaudiaWinkle
’s last day 😔 Loved working with you, loved listening to you, loved knowing you were with us 🥰 Thank you for adding millions to our box office… we will miss you greatly xxx
📷
#lucyclaireillustration
So not Olly Murs or Liam Payne,
but a boy who impressed at
@ArtsEdLondon
to play Joseph at the Palladium..
@elaine_paige
Evita
John McCrea Jamie
@Charlie_Stemp
Sixpence
All cast in this way..
ON PURE TALENT
Congrats
@jacyarrow
The West End’s just got even more exciting 👍🏼
This is a GREAT DAY for
@BBCRadio2
- as announced by
@ZoeTheBall
on her 50th birthday,
@ClaudiaWinkle
is going to take over our Saturday 10am slot.
You want your radio station to be well-represented by kind, clever, funny women - you got it 😍👊🏼🎉
Honoured to have been specially invited to last night’s
@radioacademy
Awards, because they were paying tribute to STEVE WRIGHT 🧡 Hearing
@martiofficial
perform
#WichitaLineman
took me right back to Studio 6B, when Steve made every afternoon feel like a gala event 🥹
#UKARIAS
15 yrs ago I was charged with finding
@theJeremyVine
AN ALLOTMENTEER for his
@BBCRadio2
show
Over 200 phone calls + A LOT of carrot chat later, step forward
THE ONLY MAN FOR THE JOB
@theterrywalton
🥦🌶🥕🌽
HAPPY GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY Terry & Anthea
We love you X
Spent the day in Wogan House and thought of Terry, who would have been 85 today. He was always so kind to us workers, and a ‘Hello’ in the lift from him felt like being blessed by The Pope. I joined
@BBCRadio2
because of Terry, and have stayed because of the culture he created 🩵
She’s been squeaking dog toys on
@BBCRadio2
since 2012… and far from being ‘bonkers,’ she’s deeply sentient & shrewd, and puts barrowloads of thought into every song she plays & everything she says on air… HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZA TARBUCK… one of our finest x
It’s my anniversary of becoming
#EPOS
producer 🎉
8 years is a long time to stay in the same job in the media..
Always imagined I’d move on when the thrill of collaborating with
@elaine_paige
wore off..
Still waiting ❤️
And still not missed a single episode in all 8 years ☺️
25 YEARS AT THE BBC TODAY. Over half my life. Every year I think, should I go and try something else? And every year I can’t leave. The
@BBCRadio2
family. The production values. And the chance to be of service, in the only way I know how. THANK YOU for having me ❤️
In August, I tweeted about a young girl I got chatting to at
@Harry_Styles
@wembleystadium
concert. She wanted to work in radio, so I offered to talk to her more, in Wogan House ⏩ On Friday, she got her first gig - answering the phones on the
@sarajcox
show - and she loved it!
Returned to
#BroadcastingHouse
this week after 3 weeks off 🌴 I still find it hard knowing Steve Wright isn’t around, but
@elaine_paige
is back next week and
@vernonkay
gave me a lovely smile and I know in my heart I’d rather work there than anywhere else on the planet ❤️
After a 14-week hiatus that has frankly felt like forever, it’s impossible to overstate how much joy it gives me to be bringing this title back, for the BBC:
@elaine_paige
On Sunday:
The love of my career ❤️
*brand new episodes* from today:
Never ever give up hope X
It’s my
#EPOS
anniversary 🎉
Very proud to say
that I’ve produced
every
single
show
that
@elaine_paige
has presented
for
@BBCRadio2
since 16/12/12
Six years as a power couple
& still going strong 😜
#QUEEN
❤️
Huge congratulations to
@tonyblackburn
- 60 years in broadcasting today 🎉 From pirate at Radio Caroline 🏴☠️ to captain of the good ship
@BBCRadio2
🚢 Quick, wise, funny, simply a legend🥇We are proud to tread on the same BBC carpet as you
From keeping the nation going as it Pinot noirs its way through Saturday night, to hiding tins of pilchards in Steve Wright’s jacket pocket, she’s one of
@BBCRadio2
’s most talented mavericks, consistently superb. Happy birthday LIZA TARBUCK. We’re lucky to have you X
Wasn’t it good? Oh so good! So lovely to see all the appreciation for
@elaine_paige
on BBC TV. She’s touched so many lives; in musicals, in concerts, on recordings, on the radio, and in real life. Forever grateful our paths crossed. And good lord the love and pride 😭❤️
Going into work for the first time in 21 years to a radio station that’s announced that two fantastic female presenters will bookend its daytime schedule, from 2019.
This means a lot.
@ZoeTheBall
&
@sarajcox
we wanted you both now never be late again 😊
After the best part of 15 years, today is my last Sunday Love Songs. Very grateful to have run this slam dunk of a show for so long...... now it’s someone else’s turn to repeatedly tell SW that Dua Lipa’s New Rules & Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself are not love songs 😜💙
It’s my
#EPOS
anniversary 🎉
I have made sure
I have ALWAYS been there...
And in 7 YEARS I have
NEVER missed a show 😊
So
@elaine_paige
& I
have made
EVERY. SINGLE. PROGRAMME
since this week of 2012
TOGETHER 😍
Whatever you do...
Do it with ALL YOUR HEART
#QUEEN
❤️
So grateful to have received lots of kind birthday wishes today. And these beautiful flowers from
@elaine_paige
, and lunch with her tomorrow at which we’ll toast her extra 200,000 listeners, are the icing on the cake 🎂❤️🥂
Lovely to have a 2m apart chat with
@ClaudiaWinkle
in Wogan House today - she’s hosting
@BBCRadio2
teatime show. One of the most unaffected, sweet-natured women in showbiz. She’s kind to everyone, from the runners down to the management 😁 Which is why she gets so much work 🧡
A special mention for TERRY WOGAN on what would have been his birthday 🩵 The Harry Styles of
@BBCRadio2
, he had so many groupies excited to make him tea, bring him treats, and earn an El Tel twinkle ✨😊 Always remembered and missed 🩵
Kid from Kent who loved popular music & writing 😊 Celebrating 24 years at the BBC today 🎉 It’s been so brilliant, all of it. But special thanks to Steve Wright for the training, and
@elaine_paige
who has made the last third of my time at
@BBCRadio2
especially happy ❤️
WILDly excited for
@ClaudiaWinkle
’s celebration of 40 years of
@duranduran
on
@BBCRadio2
beginning this weekend. Two lots of Claud on two Saturdays. Two iconic Taylors. Two pixie boots, times 5. And two hundred pics of
@SimonJCLeBON
in her locker 😊
We were told today about a new programme in which JOHNNIE WALKER talks about his terminal illness and being cared for by his incredible wife
@TiggyWalker
It is exceptional - moving, thought- provoking, uplifting. Johnnie, us
@BBCRadio2
long-servers send you and TW so much love 🩵
Not had a long tenure with
@RealKenBruce
as with Steve Wright, but loved being present as he and
@elaine_paige
interviewed Glenn Close. You sit there thinking; how is he so quick, so knowledgeable, so effortlessly brilliant… Because he’s simply the best.
Especially poignant to remember that Janice Long was very close to Kirsty MacColl who we also lost in December, 21 years ago. Best friends reunited. The
@BBCRadio2
staff who carry the station around in their hearts will take Janice along for the ride forever.
Never forget visiting
#DameDianaRigg
in her NYC apartment in 2018. She was so lovely to me... and it was touching to see the depth of her affection for
@elaine_paige
❤️ Elaine said “I’m sorry, I don’t watch Game of Thrones.” And Diana replied with a twinkle “I don’t either”
Hard to believe she’s devoted SIX DECADES to entertaining others, in the West End, all over the world, on recordings, on TV, and on the radio, and is still AMAZING ❤️ 60 years at the top of it all,
@elaine_paige
, congratulations 🥂 You ARE British showbiz, and we love you ❤️
Having produced two series of ‘Sheridan’s Showstoppers’ for
@BBCSounds
, I was so looking forward to seeing
#ShirleyValentine
🍳 And WOW… It’s flawless… and the perfect piece for her; our sweet, funny, smart, insanely talented
@Sheridansmith1
Fizzy, busy, and the biggest star on the station:
@elaine_paige
❤️ Thank you for your incredible loyalty to
@BBCRadio2
, and to me ❤️ I am so proud to work with you, and be part of your life ❤️ And HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ❤️
#SundayBest
Thank you to everyone who understands that it wasn’t possible to produce a full & fitting tribute to STEPHEN SONDHEIM in the timeframe that we had.
@elaine_paige
’s entire career is hallmarked by precision - and her EPOS tribute has to be as considered, as you will hear next week
Today’s my birthday - and THE BEST present... my Dad got his vaccine this morn. And my Mum had hers on Sat, on our Musicals Weekend. Thank you to everyone who’s worked so hard to give families like mine this peace of mind. And thinking of those it didn’t come soon enough for 🙏🏼
So thrilled that in today’s newly-issued, long-awaited listening figures,
@elaine_paige
On Sunday has had a fantastic result👇🏼Making a theatre-themed show during a pandemic has not been easy - but what we stand for - positivity, inclusivity & love - won the day 👊🏽❤️🏳️🌈
You made Gielgud feel good,
And Sondheim chime,
You made us bow & stan...
We turned off our ringers,
And lapped up your stingers,
And worshipped your Joanne...
As instructed; we rise,
And send fond goodbyes...
Love London; a Company fan
@PattiLuPone
@CompanyWestEnd
Updated the
@elaine_paige
On Sunday forward planner today with all the shows & UK tours’ reopening & start dates 🧡 For the first time in a year, it’s not a blank document 🧡 It’s impossible to overstate how much this means to me, both professionally & personally 😭🧡
There are two presenters at
@BBCRadio2
who have given me my happiest times there:
@elaine_paige
- on air today ❤️ And
@ClaudiaWinkle
- celebrating her birthday today 🧡 You best believe I remember all of the fun and all of the kindness ❤️🧡 And Happy Birthday Claud xx
THE hottest theatre news in the history of fire 🔥
#JerusalemThePlay
is returning to the West End 🔥 It’s probably the most outstanding thing you ever saw, or ever will see, directed by my cousin IAN RICKSON who’ll be wholly unfazed by this epic announcement! 🔥
It’s my anniversary of becoming
#EPOS
producer 🎉
9 YEARS - and still loving it
Love the work, love the music, and above all, love
@elaine_paige
❤️
99% of my brain is this programme
And still not missed a single episode, in all 9 years!
50 you say?! Today you say?!
Yet I feel exactly the same inside as when I was 7 ☺️ The only difference is that now I understand what truly matters. Sending peace & love ❤️
Almost all
@BBCRadio2
production staff had moved over from Wogan House already… but this is my first week in London Broadcasting House. 10 out of 10 for looks… but carryin’ across more in my heart than anticipated. A new era indeed 🖤
One of the sweetest of the
@BBCRadio2
on-air fraternity
@ClaudiaWinkle
is celebrating a big birthday today 🎉 HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAUD 🎉 There’s not a soul in the entertainment industry who has worked with you that doesn’t think you’re the cats whiskers 😻 xx
Lovely day at
@theJeremyVine
’s house yday celebrating allotmenteer Terry & Anthea’s 50th anniversary
Their 3days in London included
Chelsea v Arsenal
@KingandIWestEnd
🧡
Tate Modern
& a meal
@Benihana
Terry is now recovering from all the excitement in his cabbage patch😁
Been thinking a lot about STEVE WRIGHT today. I once asked him what his favourite song of all time was: Living for the City by
@StevieWonder
😍 I went and listened to so much Stevie Wonder after that. What Steve said and thought about music has literally shaped my life ☺️
Another robust set of listening figures for
@elaine_paige
On Sunday announced today ❤️ The show is now in its 20th year and I am so proud of it, and so delighted that Elaine continues to ride high ❤️❤️
#RAJAR
Fantastic to see the wonderful KIRSTY YOUNG back on TV fronting the BBC’s Trooping The Colour coverage. A favourite presenter for so many and much missed whilst she’s been away
Time to start dreaming of... accidentally kicking over a stranger’s drink 🎭 finding someone sat in your seat 🎭 realising that the person in front of you has a beehive and is standing on your coat 🎭 squeezing into a cereal box-sized loo 🎭 THEN CURTAIN UP! 🧡
#roadmap
6 years ago today,
@BBCRadio2
marked the
@RoyalAirForce
’s centenary with ‘Steve Wright’s RAF Love Songs’ 🛩️ It was an idea I pitched, for RAF personnel to celebrate their lives, loves and work with us 🛩️ Public service for those who serve us. Happy memories. Happy Easter 💛
Wishing the incomparable
@elaine_paige
a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY ❤️ Imagine, we continued making
#EPOS
together throughout a pandemic, just the two of us, my mind is blown. An idol, an icon, and my forever queen. All love, always ❤️
They ask, I produce…
I’m back to having two shows in today’s
@BBCRadio2
schedule…
So please enjoy Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs 020423… and
@elaine_paige
On Sunday 020423 ❤️
And to think at school I wanted to be a postman 💋
C E L E B R A T I N G
23 years at the BBC today 🎉
Exactly half my life earning a living from my passion for music and making entertainment shows for the greatest broadcasting institution in the world
Whatever you do, do it with all your heart 🧡
RADIO 2 CELEBRATES MUSICALS begins tomorrow 🎭 It’s so inspiring to see everyone at
@BBCRadio2
& beyond make a gargantuan effort to engulf it in love 😍
@elaine_paige
has worked her socks off, and The Greatest Show concert performances are simply INCREDIBLE 😍 See you there
Got these beautiful flowers from
@elaine_paige
🌼 Every Weds I go into Wogan House to work - and I look forward to it all week long 🌼 Today though I’d have been as happy not to 🌼 She probably didn’t realise what a difference they’d make to my working from home set-up 😌
“As the war showed us so many years ago, we are all stronger than we think, and however desperate things may seem today, remember that we can still be kind, we can still laugh... and we can still sing.”
DAME VERA LYNN, 103 years old today 🕊
The incredible rendition of ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ by
@elaine_paige
❤️ Followed by ‘Do You Hear The People Sing’ 🇺🇦 Then the spine-tingling ‘Gethsemane’ by
@stevebalsamo
💙 And ‘Say My Name’ by Alex Brightman-Beetlejuice is my favourite 15 mins of radio I’ve ever produced 😊
#EPOS
This weekend marks 26 years at the BBC for me 🧡 From straight out of college to today, to sit there with legends and have them appreciate the work you do, and allow you into their lives, is a thrill and an honour 🧡
@BBCRadio2
The toast of the West End with the First Lady of the West End… Inundated with messages about today’s show and the
@hellodollyLDN
segment 🥰
@elaine_paige
’s listeners are so enthusiastic, so loyal and so appreciative, and it means the world 🥰
Went into work today 🧡
Behind the Wogan House doors, Ken is still Popmastering, Jeremy’s still loving his detachable sunglasses, Sara’s still Half-Wowering, & Steve’s still singin’ along, jockin’ & wipin’ down...
It’s unwaveringly ‘business as usual’
@BBCRadio2
😊
Up 3 to Number 1… STEVE WRIGHT to host Pick of the Pops for
@BBCRadio2
from October 🎯 He counts down charts like they’re the most exciting thing he’s ever clapped eyes on 🤩 It’s perfect for his serious jockin’ lovin’ heart 💜 Right behind you old fruit 👊🏽🥸 xx
Fantastic to hear
@theJeremyVine
interview his incredible Editor, Phil Jones, who is leaving the BBC after 30 years. The
@BBCRadio2
backroom staff work SO HARD, especially JV’s team, and are pivotal to the station’s success. We are across EVERYTHING… and we LOVE Radio 2!
A thrill to accompany
@elaine_paige
to
@hellodollyLDN
last night ❤️
A truly memorable evening featuring an abundance of flawless Imelda, friendly EP fans, and torrential rain ☔️
queen + Dame = perfection 😍
A briefing on the
#EPOS
queendom…
@elaine_paige
is now on a short standard leave of absence from
@BBCRadio2
❤️ Sending our host for the next 3 weeks
@SamanthaBarks
love & luck, because she’s lovely. And because musical theatre on the radio must always be supported 👊🏽