Tributes from political leaders and hundreds of fans poured in as the Irish broadcaster bid farewell, writes London Editor MARK HENNESSY
SHORTLY BEFORE 9.30am yesterday, the final curtain came down on an institution in British life dating back almost 40 years when Limerick-born broadcaster Terry Wogan spoke to his army of early-morning followers for the last time. “Now, I’m not going to pretend that this is not a sad day – you can probably hear it in my voice. I’m going to miss the laughter and the fun of our mornings together. I am going to miss you. Thank you. Thank you for being my friend,” he said.
Wogan’s departure from his two-hour BBC 2 morning radio show has made the news for weeks in Britain. After 27 years in total on the programme, he is stepping down to make way for Chris Evans.
Everyone had something to say to mark his going, including prime minister Gordon Brown. Though busy at the Copenhagen world climate talks, he taped a message to wish the 72-year-old well.
“Five decades at the very top of British broadcasting is a towering, indeed an unparalleled achievement. I wanted to let you know how very dearly you’ll be missed and how delighted we all are you’ll be returning with another venture before too long,” said Brown.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron said he first listened to the show with his mother when he was a child, and he applauded the Irishman for his “great ability to show the funny side of life”.
Wogan, who worked for RTÉ during the 1960s, first hosted The Terry Wogan Showon BBC Radio 2 from 1972 in a run that lasted until 1984, when he left for a thrice-weekly television programme. When that ended he returned to Radio 2 in 1993 in a programme renamed Wake Up with Wogan, which attracted eight million listeners – Europe's single largest programme audience.
He stepped down from presenting the UK's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contestlast year after four decades, complaining that the contest had become boringly predictable, and political.
The final week of his radio show has been marked by many presentations, one being the Freedom of the City of London, which gives him the right to raise Tower Bridge to ship traffic.
But Wogan is not retiring. He will return to Radio 2 on St Valentine’s Day with a mid-morning Sunday programme, complete with live music, and he will maintain his ties to Children in Need.
As he ended his programme yesterday, Wogan told his “old geezers and gals”: “There’s nothing to be sad about – we’ve had wonderful years together. We should be celebrating.”
The show ended with Anthony Newley's The Party's Over.