Radio 2 legend reveals he tragically missed final lunch with Steve Wright despite plans to celebrate his MBE
A BBC Radio 2 legend has revealed he tragically missed a final lunch with pal Steve Wright before the DJ’s unexpected death aged 69.
News of the veteran DJ‘s passing prompted an outpouring of grief on Tuesday, with plentiful loving memories shared in tribute to the Steve Wright in the Afternoon, Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs and ex Top of the Pops host.
Yet one co-star who didn’t get to say a final farewell was Ken Bruce, 73.
The former Radio 2 DJ – who has since switched to Greatest Hits Radio after leaving the BBC last year – took to X to confess: “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.”
The pair were close pals, with Ken wishing Steve a happy birthday live on air in August 2015.
An image showing the sweet moment has now resurfaced on X, showing the pair enjoying a huge hug.
Ken’s confession came after it was revealed Steve’s BBC co-stars knew about his health battles yet his final passing still came as a shock.
Today, Nicki Chapman broke down as she read tributes to her late colleague as she stood in for Zoe Ball.
The Pop Idol judge said on Radio 2: “It is so difficult to sum up what Steve meant to all of us. The devastatingly sad news has come as a complete shock.
“Everyone seems to have such fond memories of our Wrighty because that’s how we viewed and that’s how we listened to him. He was ours.
“He was our mate, talking to us in our kitchens as we made a brew, in our bedrooms, in the shower, in our cars, taxis, lorries, in our form rooms at school, in our gardens, at work – he was always in our hearts.”
Nicki added: “It is a difficult day, it is a difficult day for all of us but we are doing him justice.”
She was one of a host of famous faces and loyal listeners who paid tribute to Steve yesterday.
Meanwhile, Greg James opened this morning’s Radio 1 Breakfast show with Steve’s iconic radio jingle amid his own raw tribute.
Steve was due to be part of BBC Radio’s plans to launch four new stations over the airwaves.
His passing was his viewed by colleagues as “very, very sudden” – making yesterday’s announcement even harder to digest.
It is not currently clear what the radio legend’s health battle was – with his cause of death, as yet, unknown.
Yet what is clear is that he delighted his thousands of loyal listeners week on week.
Steve’s story saw him rise from a life in poverty to becoming a broadcasting legend.
He was born in Greenwich, in South East London and his dad Dick managed a Burton’s men’s clothing store in central London.
Yet the family did not have a proper bathroom in their New Cross home.
He and his brother washed in a tin bath — but Steve did not consider himself to be poor.
The greatest struggle in his early days was with asthma, which meant he was in and out of hospital until the age of 11.
Steve said: “At one stage they put me in an oxygen tent.
“I would sometimes be in Greenwich Hospital for three to four days.
“We used to live in New Cross and I think it was the heavy pollution of London that brought it on.”
Off-air, he also led a life away from fame after divorcing his wife Cyndi in 1999,
He once admitted he could not find love because “I work on an afternoon show on the BBC and do a love songs show at the weekend. and rarely socialised.
Steve’s final Radio 2 show aired just three days ago, during which the fan-favourite broadcaster was entertaining listeners with a pre-recorded special Valentine’s Day edition of his Love Songs programme.
