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Sir Terry Wogan: tributes to BBC broadcaster dead aged 77 - as they happened
This article is more than 8 years old
All the reaction and tributes to the BBC TV and Radio presenter Terry Wogan, who has died of cancer aged 77, best known for his chat show Wogan, the Eurovision Song Contest and Children In Need.
Summary: Colleagues and celebrities pay tribute to Terry Wogan
Jessica Elgot
Sir Terry Wogan, the legendary broadcaster and entertainer, has died from cancer aged 77.
The Limerick-born BBC Radio 2 presenter who had a career spanning five decades, died surrounded by his loved ones, his family said in a statement. He is survived by Lady Helen, his wife of 50 years, and three children, Katherine, Mark and Alan.
The BBC director general, Tony Hall, described Wogan as a “national treasure” who had been a huge part of the BBC on television and on radio.
Sir Terry Wogan and his daughter Katherine at the Savoy hotel in London. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
As well as presenting the long-running Wake Up to Wogan, the Eurovision song contest, television chatshow Wogan and the quizshow Blankety Blank, Wogan was the face of the charity fundraiser Children in Need, raising hundreds of millions of pounds.
Last November, Wogan was forced to pull out of presenting Children in Need at the last minute due to health issues.
The prime minister, David Cameron, called Wogan a “huge talent – someone millions came to feel was their own special friend.
I grew up listening to him on the radio and watching him on TV. His charm and wit always made me smile.
Sir Terry Wogan (right) with Chris Evans Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
Tributes have been paid from across the world of broadcasting and entertainment, led by Radio 2 co-stars.
Jeremy Vine called Wogan “unfailingly encouraging and friendly” and Chris Evans, Wogan’s replacement when he left the breakfast show in 2009, said he couldn’t “put into words how the whole Radio 2 family is feeling”.
Irish broadcasters and entertainers hailed Wogan as a pioneer for British-Irish relations during the darkest days of the Troubles. “Hard to quantify what he achieved, not just in broadcasting, but for the Irish in Britain,” comedian Dara O’Briain wrote.
Radio 2 presenter Dermot O’Leary has shared a tribute to Wogan on his Instagram, with the words of a famous Irish blessing.
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Many have commented on the importance of Wogan’s popularity and his Irish heritage, especially during the strife of the 1970s and 80s.
Terribly sad news about Terry Wogan dying. Hard to quantify what he achieved, not just in broadcasting, but for the Irish in Britain.
The BBC announcer Alan Dedicoat, perhaps one of the only people at the corporation who could match Wogan for the familiarity of their distinctive voices, has been speaking to Radio 2 about his friend.
Terry Wogan at the Radio 2 studio Photograph: REX/Shutterstock
There will be no one like him again because he was so cheeky, so naughty. I spent 15 years on that breakfast show with him and I regret not one single day.
It was a laugh from the minute he arrived to the minute he left. Rehearsal – he knew the meaning of the word, knew the concept, never actually applied it. What you saw, what you heard, was exactly what you got.
He was the cheeky Irishman, always very perky. But he was able to see us slightly differently and see our weaknesses and see our strengths.
There are so many highlights to choose from, but here’s a short selection of clips from Terry Wogan’s career as a BBC TV and radio presenter from the past 30 years, from Blankety Blank to Wake Up with Wogan.
Terry Wogan’s career in the spotlight - video Guardian
Ken Bruce, one of Wogan’s longtime colleagues at Radio 2, has been speaking about the shock of the broadcaster’s sudden passing.
None of us were expecting this, come out of a clear blue sky, so it’s really hard to take in.
He was part of the fabric of our lives in so many ways. He could have been the presenter of the most difficult, most involved news programmes. He could have done anything in broadcasting, whatever he wanted to do. What he chose to do was bring his vast wit and intelligence to entertainment.
He was a positive person, a warm generous person and that’s exactly what you heard in the ear. He never forgot he was there to entertain. in the studio he was exactly the same. I worked alongside him for 20 years and it was fun every day, he enjoyed doing what he did and made sure we enjoyed doing it every day.
Radio 2 colleague Ken Bruce (left) and Terry Wogan enjoying an extra hour in bed before presenting their radio programmes from Millstreet, Ireland, the venue for the Eurovision Song Contest Photograph: Martin McCullough/PA
Bruce said Wogan never really wanted to rehearse anything he did, producing his best work spontaneously.
He came in and did it as it happened. He turned up with a few minutes to go every time. He ran it very close as it happened he didn’t plan anything or prepare anything.
He was the first kind of person to do that kind of thing. In the early days of Blankety Blank, no one had ever spoken to celebrities like that. He was a mould-breaker.
One Guardian reader points out, via Guardian Witness, how much Wogan meant to Irish listeners, particularly during the tensions between Britain and Ireland in the early days of his career.
Terry Wogan
In the dark days for the Irish in Britain of the late 1970s and 1980s, Terry was a man we could all point to as extolling our cultural virtues; geniality, good humour and a ready wit. His wider appeal, while never losing his Irishness, showed some of us that what we had in common with our neighbours was far deeper and stronger than ever we thought. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Translation: May his soul sit at God's right hand
Other readers have been sharing their fond memories of listening daily to Wogan’s Radio 2 show.
Wake up to Wogan
I remember driving to work crying with laughter and if you saw another driver laughing you knew they were listening too. A brilliant broadcaster.
The first time a famous person dying has actually been upsetting
His silliness was part of every school morning. He was a big part of my childhood and is bringing back vivid memories of family. Feeling very sad and also for his family.
Wogan interviewed many public figures over the year, using his gentle, personable style for even the most probing exchanges. Though there are almost 50 years’ worth to choose from, there are two that are particularly being discussed this morning.
The first is from 1990, Wogan’s interview with George Best at the height of the footballer’s alcoholism. “I was ill,’ Best said of that interview, “and everyone could see it but me.”
George Best on Wogan in 1990
But probably the most astonishing interview Wogan ever conducted was in 1991 with David Icke, who had been his fellow BBC presenter, now a controversial conspiracy theorist. Wogan asked Icke if he believed he was the son of God, which Icke did not deny.
Wogan interviews David Icke in 1991
The interview was devastating to Icke’s career.
As a television presenter, I’d been respected. People come up to you in the street and shake your hand and talk to you in a respectful way. And suddenly, overnight, this was transformed into “Icke’s a nutter.” I couldn’t walk down any street in Britain without being laughed at.
Wogan re-interviewed Icke in 2006, admitting he may have been “a bit sharp” in their original exchange, but continued to question him on his belief in conspiracy theories.
Terry Wogan’s final BBC breakfast show. Photograph: BBC/PA
Over time, “Togginess” came to mean not just a devotion to Wogan, but a state of mind, which Wogan described as “that feeling of being old before your time ... a flat cap and an inexplicable penchant for driving their Volvos in the centre lane of the motorway at 60mph.”
There is talk of a secret sign, known only to those who see it flashed, rather like some Bat-Signal, on the radio every morning. There is an even more secret Grand Master, or TOGmeister, sign always exchanged under cover of darkness, or the snug of a seedy eaterie near Broadcasting House, which is known only to Wogan himself, and the Duke of Kent.
The TOGs sweatshirt, which, like the car-sticker, is rarer than hen’s teeth, bears the legend: ‘Do I come here often?’ – a tried and trusted TOG chat-up line. There was a strong groundswell of opinion to have ‘I stop for no particular reason’ on the back, but it soon petered out.
Currently a movement is gathering strength to have the logos changed to ‘It’s never your fault’ on the front and ‘Mustn’t grumble’, on the back.
TOGs feel a deep-seated need to form themselves into groups, clusters or tribes. Watch out for a gathering near you.
Even the Queen is reported to have outed herself as a secret TOG.
Terry Wogan was chosen to welcome the Queen on a visit to BBC Broadcasting House. He bowed. She said, "I'm a TOG!" (Terry's Old Geezers)
Wogan had more than 9 million daily listeners at the pinnacle of his broadcasting career.
What are your fondest memories? Share your experiences and tributes by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute with Guardian Witness’ button at the top of this live blog.
