Picture from BBC
Without bothering to research it I can't tell you the exact date, but I do remember on the day that Benny Hill died there was a hastily compiled tribute on ITV. The presenter (can't remember who it was) was a show business friend of Hill's and obviously didn't have time to digest the news before being thrown in front of the camera. In hindsight this half hour programme (regardless of your opinion of Benny Hill) was more of an insult than a tribute.
2016 has been quite the year for famous deaths, especially it seems famous people with talent. David Bowie started things off and the world hasn't quite been the same. Some people have pointed out that most of the people who have died have been old, but when it is a certain person it is a shock and can be upsetting. Certain entertainers have been with us all our lives, depending on your age of course, which makes it somehow feel more personal. Ronnie Corbett was someone who felt like a part of the family, as was Sir Terry Wogan. When Wogan's death was announced on the morning of Sunday 31 January, Radio 2 understandably turned over most of the morning's broadcasting to his favourite music and happy memories shared by presenters and listeners alike. However the BBC have waited until the time was absolutely right to show a deserved tribute.
This evening BBC1 broadcast a tribute that could easily be a television highlight of the year. We the viewer gradually found out that Sir Terry Wogan was a genuinely nice person with no hidden depth and no scandal (although we can say it now, did Operation Yewtree enter anyone else's mind when he suddenly pulled out of Children In Need? Don't get me wrong, I didn't want that to have happened I'm just making a point). I didn't realise just how much television he had done, his thrice weekly chat show was a lesson in how to get the best out of a guest who in the main was only there as part of a press junket to flog a film or a book. Radio is my favourite medium though, and this is where Wogan shone. When I was a postman I listened to Wake Up To Wogan every morning and the guy made it look so easy. There aren't many broadcasters that smooth and controlled over a show, Steve Wright is another that springs to mind but there's a difference. Steve Wright turns up to work several hours before his 2pm show and prepares meticulously, and it shows whereas apparently Wogan used to turn up minutes before he was due on air and didn't believe in rehearsal, it just happened for him and his death is a sad loss for radio. There's not many true radio greats left, so make the most of it before we are just left with bland vacuous playlist led radio.
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