Steve Wright and the Radio 2 shake-up: Why the BBC changed the afternoons

Steve Wright’s exit, explained: a format change, not a falling-out

When Steve Wright told BBC Radio 2 listeners on 1 July 2022 that he was leaving the weekday afternoon slot, it landed like a jolt. For more than two decades, his 2–5pm show had been a fixture: a warm, distinctive “zoo” format with Tim Smith, Janey Lee Grace, character voices, and running gags that regulars could set their watches by. Yet Wright said it plainly: the controller of Radio 2, Helen Thomas, wanted to try something different in the afternoons.

That was the key. This wasn’t a sacking or a quiet exit through the side door. Wright kept a major role — Sunday Love Songs — and remained a presence on the network until his sudden death in February 2024. The weekday change was about programming strategy. Radio 2 had been moving pieces on the board for a while, and afternoons were a big part of that reshuffle.

Wright’s final weekday show aired on 30 September 2022. A month later, Scott Mills, long associated with Radio 1 and known for a punchier, more contemporary sound, moved into the slot. It was a symbolic handover: a heritage format giving way to a tighter, more modern afternoon show aimed at listeners who live on playlists and quick-hit features.

If you listened to Radio 2 across those years, you could feel the shift. The network had started refreshing its line-up under Thomas, who took over as controller in 2020. The goal, as framed by the changes on air, was clear: protect the station’s huge reach while keeping the content feeling current for a broad 35+ audience that spans two very different generations of pop fans.

Why the BBC moved on — and what it tells us about Radio 2

Radio 2 sits in a tough spot. It’s the UK’s biggest station, built on decades of trust, but it also has to evolve to stay relevant to listeners who now divide their attention between live radio, podcasts, and streaming. That tension — heritage versus renewal — is what Wright’s departure came to represent.

Inside the BBC, afternoon shows are prime real estate. They set the station’s daytime tone, bridge the post-lunch lull, and carry huge numbers. Wright’s programme had been one of Radio 2’s most listened-to for years. But even top shows face refresh cycles. Schedules get tuned to shifts in audience behavior, music trends, and the need for a clear sound identity across the day. The message in 2022 was that afternoons would lean a little fresher and a little faster.

Framed that way, calling Wright “unwanted” misses the point. The BBC didn’t sever ties; it reallocated them. Keeping Sunday Love Songs — a show he owned in style and spirit — made that obvious. He remained a trusted voice to millions on weekends, which doesn’t square with the idea of being pushed out entirely.

Zoom out, and the move fits a wider story. Around the same period, Radio 2’s big names were on the move. Paul O’Grady left in 2022 after schedule changes to his Sunday show. Vanessa Feltz departed that summer. Ken Bruce announced his exit in early 2023, then took his beloved mid-morning slot — and PopMaster — to commercial radio. Each change sparked the same argument from listeners: is the BBC chasing younger ears at the expense of familiar voices?

The answer is more complicated than a simple yes or no. Radio 2’s audience is broad, and the station has to work for people who discovered it in the 90s as well as those who arrived during the streaming era. You can hear that balancing act in the current daytime lineup: a mix of legacy interviewers, playlist-savvy hosts, and presenters who came up through Radio 1. Mills’ move into afternoons was a high-profile example of that blend.

Wright himself understood the lifecycle of radio. He’d already reinvented the afternoon format once before, at Radio 1 in the 1980s, before joining Radio 2 in 1996 and reviving the afternoon show in 1999. That second act became the definitive one: a reliable companion during school runs, office sprints, and endless commutes. By the time he announced the change in 2022, he told listeners, in essence, that nobody can hold a slot forever — and that the network wanted a new approach.

Listeners’ reactions told two truths at once. There was clear affection for Wright’s personality-driven, slightly eccentric brand of showmanship. And there was curiosity — sometimes frustration — about what the next version of afternoons would sound like under Mills. That friction is normal when a station touches a long-running show. You’re not just moving a presenter; you’re moving a routine woven into people’s days.

Here’s the timeline that shaped the change:

• 1996: Wright joins Radio 2 as a weekend presenter.
• 1999: Steve Wright in the Afternoon returns on Radio 2, weekdays 14:00–17:00.
• 1 July 2022: Wright announces on air he will leave the weekday slot; the controller wants something different in the afternoons.
• 30 September 2022: Wright’s final weekday afternoon show.
• 31 October 2022: Scott Mills takes over the afternoon slot.
• February 2024: Wright dies suddenly at age 69; he had continued hosting Sunday Love Songs until then.

What changed on air? Mills’ arrival brought a tighter format, more contemporary pop energy, and a pace closer to what Radio 1 fans would recognize, adjusted for Radio 2’s audience. The playlist leaned modern without abandoning the station’s core. Segment-driven features stayed, but with a different feel — less character-based improv, more tempo and topicality.

If you’re looking for a single driver behind the decision, you won’t find it in any one memo. This was classic radio strategy: evolve the sound, stagger presenter changes, keep weekends familiar, and manage the risk. Wright’s Sunday presence cushioned the blow for loyal listeners. Meanwhile, afternoons became the flagship for a fresher daytime sound.

Wright’s death in 2024 cast his 2022 exit in a different light. The affection that poured in from colleagues and listeners underlined why his afternoon show mattered: it was companion radio at its best, built on personality, warmth, and rituals. None of that changes the logic of Radio 2’s schedule refresh. But it does explain why the word “unwanted” doesn’t fit. He wasn’t pushed to the edge; he remained at the heart of Sundays until the very end.

What happens next is the same question that always faces Radio 2: how to hold the biggest audience in British radio while sounding alive to the moment. Wright helped define one answer for more than 20 years. The current schedule is the BBC’s latest attempt to find the next one.