Steve Wright hosts his final BBC Radio 2 afternoon show

Steve Wright told listeners to his final daily BBC Radio 2 programme that he wants to “celebrate the show’s success and long run” after 23 years.

The DJ delivered a heartfelt speech during the final edition of Steve Wright in the Afternoon on Friday.

He said: “I want to say thank you to you for your appreciation, our dearest listener smashing and loyal, for all the reaction and all the nice words.”

He stressed that he was not retiring, and will keep his Sunday morning show.

Wright will also launch his Serious Jockin’ podcast on 4 November, and will present special programmes on the station including for National Album Day on 15 October and at Christmas.

“Thank you if you’ve ever seen your way to listening to us over 23 years at any time,” he told listeners. “Thank you, thank you and thank you again.

“Corny though it sounds, I quite like the way that we’ve all helped each other get through some of our ongoing problems together – the pandemic, the financial downturns, the ups and downs of life in the UK. Sometimes it’s been very difficult for everybody.

“[We] tried on this programme to bring just a little bit of light relief, a good genuine atmosphere, uplifting tunes, good conversation, a little bit of satire. We tried to make the show unique and just be good company. I can only hope that we’ve done that some of the time.

“I’m also really aware there are more things to think about than a radio show ending so I don’t want to be too self indulgent. What I do want to do is celebrate the show’s success and long run, and also mention that I’m not retiring!”

When the end of his “big show” was announced in July, the 68-year-old revealed that the head of Radio 2 had told him she wanted to do “something different” in his slot. He said: “That’s OK. I understand that.”

Former Radio 1 host Scott Mills will move into Radio 2’s 14:00-16:00 slot later this year, with drivetime presenter Sara Cox’s show extended to begin at 16:00 instead of the current 17:00.

In a statement on the Radio 2 website, Wright said: “I know I’ve been extremely lucky to do this work and have never taken it for granted.”

He joked: “There is no truth in the rumour I’m planning to open my own artisan bakery, and I’ve turned down twice the chance to open my own nail bar. So it’s all good.

“Please do listen to Scott Mills and Sara Cox when they take over afternoons. They are both brilliant broadcasters and I truly wish them well when they start.”

Wright made his name on Radio 1 with the original incarnation of Steve Wright in the Afternoon from 1981, bringing energy, comedy and his trusty posse – and pioneering the “zoo” format on the UK airwaves.

He moved from afternoons to the breakfast slot from 1994 to 95 before joining Radio 2 the following year, initially on Saturday mornings before resurrecting Steve Wright in the Afternoon in 1999.

The format included regular features including his “factoids” – listing quirky facts – and Friday’s final episode included a series of special factoids about Steve Wright in the Afternoon.

Former Radio 1 colleague Nicky Campbell earlier paid tribute to Wright on his Radio 5 Live show, describing him as a “proper genius” of radio.

“Just to know him and to watch him work was extraordinary,” Campbell said. “He’s a conjurer, he’s a magician, he’s a high wire artist, and he’s a communicator extraordinaire. He is, I’ll say it again, a radio genius, and he will always be a radio hero.”

Other friends and famous fans lined up to bid farewell to Wright’s daily show.