Steve Wright's first Top of the Pops appearance to be broadcast on BBC this weekend

In memory of legendary radio DJ Steve Wright, the BBC will rebroadcast the presenter’s first appearance on Top Of The Pops more than four decades ago. Mr Wright died on Monday at the age of 69.

Having previously worked across BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2, the broadcaster announced it would be celebrating Mr Wright’s work over the weekend by showing the vintage episode. A BBC spokesperson said: “We’ve been remembering Steve on air all week together with our presenters and listeners, and we’ll continue to celebrate his decades with the BBC this weekend.

“On BBC Four, audiences can catch his first ever Top Of The Pops from 1980, on BBC Sounds there’s a special collection and this weekend’s Pick Of The Pops and Sunday Love Songs will be dedicated to Steve, presented by Gary Davies and Liza Tarbuck.”

Four Top Of The Pops episodes from the BBC archive, also including Wright’s last shows, will air on Friday. The shows, from 1980 to 1989, feature performances by Sir Cliff Richard, Madonna, Wham! duo George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, Whitney Houston, The Buggles, Cher and Billy Joel.

Wright joined BBC Radio 1 in 1980 to host a Saturday evening show before moving on to host Steve Wright In The Afternoon a year later, where he stayed until 1993.

He then fronted the Radio 1 Breakfast show for a year until 1995, and completed a stint at commercial radio stations before returning to BBC Radio 2 in 1996 to host Steve Wright’s Saturday Show and Sunday Love Songs.

In 1999, he recreated Steve Wright In The Afternoon every weekday on Radio 2, with celebrity interviews and entertaining trivia featured in his Factoids segment, before stepping down in September 2022 – he continued to present Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2. In a schedule shake-up, former BBC Radio 1 host Scott Mills took over the afternoon slot.

Wright’s death was being treated as “unexpected”, but not suspicious. Paramedics and officers had been called to a flat in the Marylebone area of central London on Monday morning.

“The death was unexpected, but is not being treated as suspicious,” the Met Police said. “A report will be prepared for the coroner.”