Sara Cox has been praised by BBC Radio 2 listeners after she grew emotional while paying tribute to her radio legend Steve Wright, who has died aged 69. Wright’s death was announced on Tuesday 13 February, with his family saying: ‘It is with deep sorrow and profound regret that we announce the passing of our beloved Steve Wright.
‘In addition to his son, Tom, and daughter, Lucy, Steve leaves behind his brother, Laurence and his father Richard. Also, much-loved close friends and colleagues, and millions of devoted radio listeners who had the good fortune and great pleasure of allowing Steve into their daily lives as one of the UK's most enduring and popular radio personalities. As we all grieve, the family requests privacy at this immensely difficult time.’ No cause of death was given.
News of Steve’s death broke while Sara, 49, was presenting her afternoon show on Radio 2. The presenter was clearly shocked by the announcement, as Steve had presented his last show on the station, a pre-recorded Valentine’s Day special, on Sunday.
‘It’s really hard to know what to say about the news of Steve Wright’s passing, except we are all absolutely devastated and shocked and blindsided by this news,’ Sara said on air, after gathering her thoughts. ‘Steve was an extraordinary broadcaster, a really, really kind person. He was witty, he was warm and he was a huge, huge part of the Radio 2 family, and I know my fellow DJs will all be absolutely shattered too.’
Addressing the listeners with an audible lump in her throat, she continued: 'I imagine you’re feeling sad too, and we are here for your messages. If you’d like to reach out, if you’d like to share your thoughts or memories about Steve, please do… because we’ve all lost a lovely friend who’s been a big part of our lives for so many years. We’re going to try and do Steve proud for the rest of our show.'
Sara's name was soon trending on X (formerly Twitter), with listeners praising her vulnerability on air. 'What a reminder of the power in radio's intimacy, the connections nurtured day after day over decades. Not to mention quite what an outstanding broadcaster Sara Cox is,' one tweet read, while another X user wrote: 'Incidentally Sara Cox has got it, hasn’t she? I mean that ability just to chat to listeners and sound like one of us. She is doing a wonderful job right now under horribly sad circumstances. A great tribute to Steve Wright.'
Tributes to Steve continued to pour in as the news spread. Many fellow radio personalities shared their fond memories of Steve, who joined the BBC in the 1970s and presented Steve Wright in the Afternoon from 1999 to 2016. Ken Bruce, who last year left Radio 2 for Greatest Hits Radio, wrote on X: ‘Totally shocked to hear the news about the great Steve Wright. We were planning lunch to celebrate the award of his richly deserved MBE. An outstanding and innovative broadcaster whose listeners loved him. What a loss to the world of radio.’
Richard Osman added: ‘As a teenager the job I wanted most in the world was to be part of Steve Wright's posse. He made radio seem so joyous. What terribly sad news, and what a brilliant broadcaster he was.’
Across the BBC’s radio stations, other presenters offered words of support. Jo Wiley told listeners on Radio 2 on Wednesday 14 February: ‘I’ve never felt it more than I did last night, I went to Maida Vale because we’re all doing our shows from there at the moment, and it was less than a week ago that I was sitting in my studio talking to Steve. So it’s really bizarre sitting there yesterday looking through the glass and expecting to see him and he was working on his Love Songs show this time last week ... yesterday evening I was doing my show and some of the studio managers were there who were some of his posse, the afternoon boys 40 years ago, and we were all broken and in tears but also reliving all the memories.’
BBC Radio 5 Live’s Nicky Campbell told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘He was such good company, he was so, so funny and had a waspish wit and was a delicious gossip – he used to gossip about this place all the time, he loved the BBC but – and this might resonate with you, all of you – he was so exasperated and frustrated with it sometimes.’