Coventry-born radio presenter Brian Matthew is dumped by the BBC

[dutchman]

Brian Matthew, the Radio 2 DJ who has presented Sounds of the 60s for more than a quarter of a century, is to be replaced by the BBC in a decision he described as "horrible".



Matthew, 88, is Britain’s oldest regular radio presenter and has been with the station since 1954. He has been off air for several weeks to recuperate from a fall, with Sir Tim Rice standing in for him on the Saturday morning show.

The BBC said in a statement that, due to Matthew’s ill health, it had been mutually agreed that it was “the right time for him to step off the weekly treadmill of presenting the show”.

But Matthew said: “That’s absolute balderdash. I was ready and willing and able to go back, and they’ve just said they are going to put the programme in the hands of other people.

“I didn’t really have much in the way of ill health. I had a collapse at home at the bottom of our stairs, and my wife called the ambulance service. They came and examined me and said it was a matter for appraisal at the hospital. They put me on a ward, I stayed there for a while and now I’m back at home.

“I enjoyed doing the show very much indeed. I did it for 25 years. I feel very disconcerted, I must say. I do admit I’m a bit of an antique, but that’s never seemed to matter until now.”

Matthew said the decision to take him off the show was “horrible”. He was one of Radio 2’s first DJs, and has presented Sounds of the 60s since 1990.

“The BBC have, in their wisdom, just sent me a whole batch of letters from listeners. You should see the mail,” he said. “It’s amazing, people saying ‘We’ve always been fans of the programme, it isn’t the same without you, when are you coming back?’”

Matthew said he was happy to make one-off programmes for the station, but would dearly love to return to his show. He began his broadcast career in 1948 and trained as an actor at RADA before joining the BBC in 1954.

He hosted Saturday Club, one of the first programmes to broadcast pop music, from its beginnings in 1958 until 1967, when Radio 1 was launched and the BBC told him he “wasn’t suited” for a young audience.

But he went on to present the television show Thank Your Lucky Stars, and from 1978-1990 he hosted the Radio 2 arts programme Round Midnight. In 2006, he won a Sony Gold Award - the industry’s answer to an Oscar - and a lifetime award “in recognition of a truly outstanding contribution to UK radio”.

[dutchman]

Brian Matthew: BBC Radio 2 broadcaster dies at 88



Matthew had presented Sounds of the 60s since April 1990. His last full show was broadcast in November 2016, but he returned in February for a final compilation programme.

He also presented on TV, fronting ITV show Thank Your Lucky Stars which featured bands including The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Matthew died on Saturday at the age of 88.

Head of Radio 2 Lewis Carnie paid tribute, saying Matthew would be "sadly missed by us all".

He was a "much loved and valued presenter on Radio 2 - by both the audience and his colleagues", added Carnie.

"He presented Sounds of the Sixties' for 27 years and we had hoped to be able to carry on working with him in a new series where he could share his memories from his distinguished career with us," he said.

"Sadly it was not to be."

Matthew was born in Coventry to a singer mother and conductor father.

He began broadcasting at the British Forces Network and later worked at Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

He worked for the BBC from 1954 and was the voice of the explosion of pop music.

It was revealed earlier this week that Matthew was critically ill, after Radio 2 initially mistakenly announced his death.

His passing on Saturday morning was confirmed by Radio 2 and by Matthew's god-daughter.