Tributes to radio DJ Steve Wright continued on Wednesday as several of his former colleagues appeared on ITV's This Morning. Dermot O’Leary and Paul Gambaccini were in the studio, while Noel Edmonds joined live from New Zealand and Tony Miles, known to listeners as ‘Smiley Miley’, also joined from Bristol.
In a poignant moment, Paul revealed that he emailed Steve on Tuesday not knowing that he'd died. He said: “Steve understood that, at its best, radio was a club where anyone who listens, feels they are a member and all you have to do to be in the club is tune in. And once you're in, you're into this wonderful, happy world, the world of Steve Wright.”
He added: "[Radio] was his life. He gave us his life, for 44 years, five days a week, and then six with ‘Love Songs’. He was on air, prepping before and after, that was his life. Radio was his life.”
Noel Edmonds, speaking from his home in New Zealand, emotionally said: “Steve was one of those very small band, [Terry] Wogan being one of them, who was a brilliant communicator. The thing about being a communicator is you are born with it, you can't fake it. The microphone or the camera will find you if you are trying to be something you're not and I think the reason why so many people are genuinely distressed by this premature departure is that Steve was a friend, because he could communicate.”
Noel later added: “I mourn the passing of this great talent, this marvellous man. He had integrity, he had sincerity, he had this incredible commitment to the people he would never meet. We are unfortunately coming, I think, to the end of that radio era, so please cherish the Ken Bruce's and the Tony Blackburn's and the Gambo’s. Cherish them, because we're coming to the end of an era.”
Paul opened up that he was supposed to speak to Steve this week: “We had spoken a great length on Saturday. Yeah, I had sent him two emails yesterday, not realising he had left us… and I was due to talk to him tomorrow…”
Dermot remembered working with Steve and said: “He was a kind man as well. I've been at Radio 2 almost 20 years now and I'll never forget, within my first week, it felt like you're joining a family. People who had no reason to, went out of their way, these you know, proper titans of broadcast, went out of the way - I count you amongst that number Paul - went out of their way, to make sure you're welcome. Just go, ‘Hello, young man. How's it going? You're doing so well’. The pep talk… Just genuinely a really inclusive guy when he really didn't have to be.”
Paul added: “Often after the Friday show was over, he'd go to Heathrow and fly to the States, he would go in a hotel room or drive around and he'd listen. He heard Scott Shannon, who originated the so-called ‘zoo format’… And he brought that to Britain.”
Tony Miles joined in paying tribute to Steve and said: “How do I follow Noel and Paul, they've both said… you know, what I would love to say - but it's already been said - is that he was a very generous person with his time. He was generous, when we walked down the street, if he sees someone not well off, wanted a cup of coffee, he would pull out five, ten, twenty pounds. He wanted to look after people and I think it just resonates now, what a lovely, kind man. He was on the radio and as a person.”
To see the show in full visit itv.com/watch/this-morning. This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 & ITVX.
