Steve Wright in the Afternoon
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| Other names | The Big Show |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy, Talk |
| Running time | 3 hours (2–5pm) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 2 |
| Hosted by | Steve Wright |
| Starring |
Tim Smith Janey Lee Grace Bobbie Pryor |
| Recording studio | Wogan House, London |
| Original release | 5th July 1999 – present |
| Audio format | 88–91 FM, DAB digital radio, TV and online |
| Website | Official BBC Website |
| Podcast | Steve Wright in the Afternoon - The Big Podcast |
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| Genre | Comedy, chat |
|---|---|
| Running time | 2.5 hours (3–5:30pm) |
| Country of origin | UK |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 1 |
| Hosted by | Steve Wright |
| Original release | 1981 – 1993 |
Steve Wright in the Afternoon is the name of the current afternoon show on BBC Radio 2, hosted by Steve Wright. The show is one of the most popular on the station, and is often referred to as The Big Show. The show is broadcast from 14:00 until 17:00 Monday to Friday.
The show originally started on Radio 1 in the 1980s where it ran successfully for a number of years until ending in 1993. Steve Wright then worked on other shows for the network before leaving the BBC for several years. In this period, he worked at Talk Radio, and at GWR presenting a networked weekend show. He finally moved back to the BBC at Radio 2 in 1996. He started as a weekend presenter hosting a Saturday morning show (later taken over by Jonathan Ross) and Sunday morning's Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs. Steve Wright in the Afternoon was revived in 1999 following a shake-up at Radio 2 and Wright now presents the show every Monday to Friday from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. It has built up a huge following and was given its own podcast in 2006 as part of a trial period. This is still available every week with highlights from the show.
The Show follows the zoo format, with Steve Wright as the host, and co-presenters Tim Smith and Janey Lee Grace, as well as input from news and travel presenters on the day. There is also a character called 'The Old Woman'; no-one knows her identity, but there are many rumours circulating on the internet as to her true identity. On the 9th of November 2016, Steve Wright confirmed the death of Joyce Frost from Dagenham aka 'The Old Woman'. Other spoof characters include 'Barry from Watford' (the octogenarian lifestyle coach - played by the actor Alex Lowe) and 'Elvis', who appears in the feature Ask Elvis.
The show begins at 14:00 with the show's main theme. Unlike most shows, it is well established as being a "brand", with its own unique style of presentation, although Steve regularly uses the standard BBC Radio 2 jingles along with jingles unique to the show, written and performed by AJ Music Productions. Guests regularly appear on the show, often to plug a new TV show or movie.
When other presenters stand in for Steve Wright in the Afternoon, the stand-in host does "their own thing", rather than replicating the normal show. The show's theme and jingles are not played, and otherwise regular features (such as the factoids) are not used. For example, the most recent stand in Mark Goodier has been known to use an instrumental version of Chic's "Happy Man" as background music, and during the 3-3:30pm slot he does six songs, one from each decade beginning in the 1960s onwards, plus two that are the choice of the listeners, all of which relate to a theme such as weddings or water. In the past, stand in presenters have included Mark Radcliffe, Aled Jones, Craig Charles, Liza Tarbuck, Dale Winton, Richard Allinson, Sara Cox, Chris Tarrant and Tony Blackburn. More recently, alongside the aforementioned Mark Goodier, the regular stand-in hosts have been Patrick Kielty, Jo Whiley, Chris Tarrant, Jonathan Ross and Al Murray.
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