From the archive (season 4): James Norton, actor
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Telegraph
16 minutes ago
- Telegraph
‘I worked with Steve Wright for 30 years. The BBC has tarnished his legacy'
Later this month, BBC Radio 2 will broadcast a tribute concert for Steve Wright – the adored DJ, who died last February. It will feature the bespoke jingles that were such a crucial part of shows such as Steve Wright in the Afternoon and Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs, but the man behind those jingles, Anthony James, is not involved. Since Wright's death at the age of 69, James says he has been dismayed by the BBC's handling of his friend's legacy – and haunted by what he sees as mistreatment by the corporation in the years leading up to his death. The pair first met in 1986 when James (known professionally as AJ) was a teenager. He had already begun working in local radio, composing unique musical idents for the station's presenters. A fan of Wright's BBC shows, James sent him a 30-second piece of music, with his 'cold pitch' resulting in a phone call to his home soon afterwards. 'My mother picked it up and ran upstairs and said, 'Oh my God, it's Steve Wright on the phone.' I thought it was one of my friends doing a prank,' James reflects, but it was Wright, promising that he would play the tune on his show at 3pm that very afternoon. So began a partnership that James describes as '50-50 friendship, 50-50 like a father figure'. At the outset, Wright appeared to him 'like the Wizard of Oz: he was this great big celebrity on one of the biggest stations in Europe'. When James moved to New York in the late 1990s to continue his career as a composer (still writing around 100 jingles a year across Wright's shows), their friendship continued to develop: 'He would tell me a lot of personal stuff, which was great. But first, he would always want to know what was up with me, what was going on in my world… He was very sensitive, very conscious of how I was doing.' Wright visited James in New York often; they spoke on the phone two or three times a week. He remembers Wright's levity during their calls. 'I miss that, big time. I would always get off the phone with Steve and I'd have laughed so much, because he just found humour in everything.' In the years leading up to his death, however, Wright would suffer a series of personal and professional setbacks. The first came in 2022, when Steve Wright in the Afternoon was axed by the BBC. Wright called a tearful James once the news broke; both saw the move as 'crazy; our numbers [were] through the roof'. Wright admitted that he had been told of its cancellation and sworn to secrecy by the organisation nine months prior, but was reassured by promises made by Helen Thomas, the head of BBC Radio 2, that the show would live on via a yet-to-be-created digital channel. When that prospect began looking increasingly unlikely, Wright approached Tim Davie, the director-general. According to James, Davie told Wright: 'I can't believe she fired you… I wouldn't have fired you myself.' The BBC has, however, denied this. James believes that the axing of Steve Wright in the Afternoon was part of a push to banish broadcasters considered too ' pale, male and stale ' from the airwaves, and to create a kind of conformity at direct odds with Wright's verve. 'They just wanted it a little bit more like wallpaper,' he says of Thomas's decision to 'do something different in the afternoons'. 'They thought that this idea of personality [displayed in abundance by Wright] is old style; it's not cool anymore, we should make Radio 2 cool,' he says. 'But who gives a s--- about cool? It's about being entertained.' The effect on Wright was devastating. 'He didn't really stop to accept it. I think it ate him up,' James tells me. 'It got worse, and his health got worse.' Wright had heart surgery a year after the show was axed, and the medication he took in its aftermath led him to put on even more weight. 'He told me, 'I'm just really not well. I'm trying to lose the weight, I think I'm going to have a gastric band.'' James says that Wright also considered using Ozempic. Despite Wright's best attempts to get better, James recalls that: 'There was something about our last meeting [in November 2023]. There was just a look in his eye. I told my partner [afterwards] that something was really wrong.' Then, the following February, Wright died, leaving James overwhelmed with grief. 'I was not on this planet,' he says of that time. The groundswell of public affection went some way to easing his sadness, but that was quickly dismantled by the actions of the BBC. 'The painful truth is that the same BBC leadership celebrating Steve publicly is the one that disregarded and undermined our work privately,' says James. After Wright's death, James feels that they tried to 'delegitimise' his and Wright's relationship. 'I felt disgusted by that,' says James. 'Our relationship was so successful and it lasted for 38 years, and I feel like they're just s---ting on it.' And on Wright himself: a man who attended the studio at nine o'clock each morning to prepare for his afternoon show, and was dedicated to his listeners to the last. In response to questions about the treatment of Wright, the BBC said: 'Steve was deeply loved by the Radio 2 family and listeners, and we all miss him dearly. For almost three decades he hosted a raft of brilliant shows on the network. 'Steve's Sunday Love Songs had been on air since 1996 and he was excited to take on the legendary Pick of the Pops alongside a variety of specials on Radio 2 including Steve Wright: The Best of the Guests, Steve Wright's Summer Nights and Steve Wright's Love Songs Extra on BBC Sounds.' Thomas wrote to James in autumn last year asking for permission to play his music in the BBC tribute concert for Wright, which was recorded earlier this year (ahead of this month's transmission). He agreed, but when he rediscovered a recording of Wright railing at the poor internal handling of his show being axed, 'I just got more and more angry.' James talked through the matter with Wright's son, before telling Thomas that he no longer planned to attend. Then, in the week before the concert, she let him know that 'the great and the good will be there', which James took to mean: don't miss an opportunity to network. 'And I said, 'I'm not f---ing networking; this is not about networking. This is about a tribute to my friend.'' James thinks this last-minute push was driven by fear that his absence would 'look bad' for the BBC. 'It just started stinking towards the end of it, and I thought, 'No, I've given my music, my music will represent me, and that's it. I'm not going,' he says. When I put James's thoughts to the BBC, a spokesman replied: 'When inviting AJ to the recording of the celebration of Steve's broadcast career, where new arrangements of his work would be played live on stage, Helen's sole aim was to make sure AJ did not miss what promised to be, and indeed proved to be, a very special event, with many of Steve's friends and colleagues in attendance.' It is clear that James feels both he and Wright have been wronged by the BBC. The outpouring of affection from fans since Wright's death, compared with what he sees as shoddy treatment by the corporation now openly celebrating him, has made the past 18 months particularly challenging. Wright would have turned 71 on August 26, and his birthday will spark 'very intense' feelings for James as he remembers their friendship and their creative partnership. 'I miss all that,' he says, 'and that makes me very emotional.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'My oldest memory is my ears ringing from the Roker Roar'
This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos for why you fell in love with is a selection of your submissions: Andrew: Growing up in west Cumbria where rugby league ruled, I never really had a football team, but I happened to be a student in Sunderland when they played and won an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea in 1992. I was at a house party where the majority were listening to the match on the radio. As soon as Gordon Armstrong's header went in the whole place erupted.I've been addicted ever since. Send us your pictures and stories here
South Wales Argus
6 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Tributes paid to 'legend' James Whale after death aged 74
Whale had fought a long battle with kidney cancer, having been first diagnosed in 2000, with doctors predicting he had three months to live. However, he had surgery to remove one of his kidneys and six years later, he launched the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer to fund research and raise awareness of the disease. His cancer returned in 2020, and it was revealed that it had also spread to his spine, brain and lungs. We are sad to announce that James Whale MBE died earlier today aged 74, following a lengthy battle with cancer. As a broadcasting legend for over 50-years, James will be missed by so many at TALK and the wider News UK family. — Talk (@TalkTV) August 4, 2025 The broadcaster's final column was published just hours before he passed away, in which he revealed he's "happy to go now and feels at peace" after moving into a hospice. He is survived by his wife Nadine and his two sons James and Peter. Whale first came to prominence in the 1980s as the host of The James Whale Radio Show on Radio Aire in Leeds. From 1995 to 2008, he hosted a night-time radio show on talkSPORT (Talk Radio 1995–2000), followed by stints on LBC 97.3 and various BBC radio stations. He covered shows on talkRADIO from October 2016, including James Whale Unleashed. Very sad to learn of the passing of broadcasting legend @THEJamesWhale after his long battle with cancer. He will be greatly missed. Honoured to record his final interview just weeks ago. — Christian Mitchell (@MitchellCMM) August 4, 2025 Tributes paid to 'broadcasting legend' James Whale Quite a few people within the media industry paid tribute to Whale following the news of his death. MP and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was among those who had some warm words to share about the presenter. He posted on X (formerly known as Twitter): "James Whale was a broadcasting pioneer, legend and the king of late night talk radio. But most importantly, he was a friend who will be missed." James Whale was a broadcasting pioneer, legend and the king of late night talk radio. But most importantly, he was a friend who will be missed. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 4, 2025 Programme editor at Talk TV, Christian Mitchell, said: "Very said to learn of the passing of broadcasting legend @THEJamesWhale after his long battle with cancer. He will be greatly missed. "Honoured to record his final interview just weeks ago." Fellow Talk TV presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer wrote: "So sad that my amazing, wonderful @TalkTV colleague James Whale has died. Recommended reading: "He was a legend both on air and off air. It was a pleasure and an honour to know him. Sending Nadine and his family all my love xxxx". Journalist and broadcaster Dawn Neesom shared: "So sad to hear that James has gone. God bless you Whaley, at peace & free of pain. Thoughts with the amazing @nadine_lamont & James family." Media commentator and columnist Charlie Mullens posted: "This morning I heard the sad news of the passing of the broadcasting legend and my dear friend - the one and only James Whale MBE James mate rest in peace now."
