The late BBC Radio 2 star Steve Wright had plans to join a different radio station when his afternoon show was suddenly axed after 23 years back in 2022, his ex co-star Janey Lee Grace has revealed.
Two years back, Steve announced on air that his programme would be coming to an end as the station's boss "wanted to do something different in the afternoons".
It was later revealed that former BBC Radio 1 host Scott Mills would be replacing him as part of a shake-up in the schedule.
While Steve remained on the station with his much-loved Sunday Love Songs show up until his death earlier this year, Janey, 64, said he was hoping to jump ship and get the team back together.
Steve's co-star, who worked alongside him for over 20 years, shared: "Tim [Smith] and I were a part of Steve's gang and that's it, you know, when that show ended, we ended. I would've loved to still be working there but it's not to be, is it?
"I was in touch with Steve for a long time and we thought that we would take the show to another station pretty much as it was, that's what he wanted to do.
"But, it just never panned out. I genuinely don't know the reason [why], I was very laidback about it. What else can I do?"
Recalling Steve's words amid his plan to move, the former Wham! backing singer added: "He used to say, 'Hang on in there, because I'm in talks with various different stations'.
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"For a while we thought we might take the show to Greatest Hits, Virgin [Radio] or one of the other big stations but, for whatever reason, it just wasn't meant to be."
Following Steve's death from a stomach ulcer aged 69 in February, Michael Ball stepped in as his successor taking over his Sunday Love Songs show.
Other changes on BBC Radio 2 in recent years have included Vernon Kay taking over from Ken Bruce and Paddy McGuinness taking over from Michael.
Addressing the shake-ups, Janey said the station now seems "completely" different, but insisted changes are part and parcel of working in radio.
"I don't think the Steve show should've been cancelled," she shared. "I think people absolutely loved it, but it's not my station is it, who am I to judge?
"And as Steve said, Steve said really kind of candidly when he did a piece to camera, I think it was shown on TV, when he found out the show was ending.
"He said, 'Sometimes they want you, sometimes they don't', and you can't sum it up better than that really'."
Janey's brand new book From Wham! to Woo - A Life on the Mic is available to pre-order now.
You can also catch Janey on her book tour across 13 different venues in the UK, kicking off on October 22. For more information, see here.
