Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday breakfast programme Wake Up to Wogan regularly drew an estimated eight million listeners. He was believed to be the most listened-to radio broadcaster in Europe.
Wogan was a leading media personality in Ireland and Britain from the late 1960s and was often referred to as a "national treasure". In addition to his weekday radio show, he was known for his work on television, including the BBC1 chat show Wogan, presenting Children in Need, the game show Blankety Blank and Come Dancing. He was the BBC's commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest from 1971 to 2008 and the Contest's co-host in. He also presented the BBC's blooper show, Auntie's Bloomers, between 1991 and 2001. In recognition of his television career, in 2006, the British public ranked him number 21 in ITV's poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars.
In 2005, Wogan acquired British citizenship in addition to his Irish nationality and was awarded a knighthood in the same year and was therefore entitled to use the title "Sir". He presented Weekend Wogan, a two-hour Sunday morning show on Radio 2, from 2010 until his final show on Remembrance Sunday 2015 when his health was beginning to decline. He died on 31 January 2016, aged 77.
Early life
Wogan was born on 3 August 1938 at Cleary's Nursing Home, Elm Park, Limerick, Ireland, the elder of two children. He was the son of the manager of Leverett & Frye, a high-class grocery store in Limerick, and was educated at Crescent College, a Jesuit school, from the age of eight. He experienced a strongly religious upbringing, later commenting that he had been brainwashed into believing by the threat of going to hell. Despite this, he often expressed his fondness for the city of his birth, commenting on one occasion that "Limerick never left me, whatever it is, my identity is Limerick."At the age of 15, after his father was promoted to general manager, Wogan moved to Dublin with his family. While living there he attended Crescent College's sister school, Belvedere College. He participated in amateur dramatics and discovered a love of rock and roll. After leaving Belvedere in 1956, Wogan had a brief career in the banking profession, joining the Royal Bank of Ireland. Still in his twenties, he joined the national broadcaster of Ireland, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, as a newsreader and announcer, after seeing a newspaper advertisement inviting applicants.
Radio work
Early career
Wogan conducted interviews and presented documentary features during his first two years at Raidió Teilifís Éireann, before moving to the light entertainment department as a disc jockey and host of TV quiz and variety shows such as Jackpot, a top-rated quiz show on RTÉ in the 1960s. When the show was dropped by RTÉ TV in 1967, he approached the BBC for extra work. David Attenborough rebuffed his job application to be a BBC presenter; in 2016, after Wogan's death, Attenborough expressed the view that "to have had two Irishmen presenting on BBC2 would have looked ridiculous". The channel already had an Irish announcer. Wogan began working for BBC Radio, initially 'down the line' from Dublin, first broadcasting on the BBC Light Programme on 27 September 1966. His earliest BBC radio show surviving in the BBC Archives is from 24 December 1966, when he presented Songs for Christmas on the BBC Light Programme. He presented the Tuesday edition of Late Night Extra for two years on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, commuting weekly from Dublin to London. After being a stand-in presenter on Jimmy Young's mid-morning show while Young took a holiday throughout July 1969, Wogan was offered a weekday afternoon slot which began on 29 September that year, initially on BBC Radio 1, but from early 1970, was also simultaneously broadcast on BBC Radio 2.In April 1972 he took over the breakfast show on BBC Radio 2, swapping places with John Dunn, who moved to the afternoon show. Wogan achieved record estimated audiences of up to 7.9 million. His first chat show, Wogan's World, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from 6 June 1974 to 21 September 1975. His seemingly ubiquitous presence across the media meant that he frequently became the butt of jokes by comedians of the time, among them The Goodies and The Barron Knights. He released a parody vocal version of the song "The Floral Dance" in 1978, by popular request from listeners who enjoyed hearing him sing over the instrumental hit by the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. His version reached number 21 in the UK Singles Chart.
In December 1984, Wogan left his breakfast show to pursue a full-time career in television and was replaced by Ken Bruce.
Return to radio
In January 1993 he returned to Radio 2, replacing Brian Hayes to present the breakfast show, which took the new name Wake Up to Wogan; it began with a preview show in the mid-morning of Boxing Day 1992. Wogan's tendency to go off on rambling, esoteric tangents, often including banter with his then producer Paul Walters, became popular with both younger and older listeners. Much of the entertainment came from letters and emails sent in by listeners, many of whom adopted punning pseudonyms. One occasion involved Wogan reading out an email from someone using the name "Tess Tickles", without realising what the name was referring to, prompting Paul Walters' standard reply in such situations – "I only print 'em!"Through his show Wogan was also widely credited with launching the career of singer Katie Melua, after he repeatedly played her début single, "The Closest Thing to Crazy", in late 2003. When she performed on Children in Need in 2005, Wogan joked that Melua owed her career to him. He gave credit for her discovery to Walters. Walters also put music by Eva Cassidy, an American singer who had died in relative obscurity, on Wogan's playlist; Cassidy then, posthumously, became a sensation in the United Kingdom.
As his radio show was considered to attract older listeners, Wogan jokingly referred to his fans as "TOGs", standing for "Terry's Old Geezers" or "Terry's Old Gals", while "TYGs" were "Terry's Young Geezers/Gals", who he joked were forced to listen to him because of their parents' choice of radio station. Wogan was referred to as "The Togmeister" on his own programme by himself and members of his production team, and he referred to the podcast of his show as a "Togcast".
There were also running jokes involving Wogan's newsreader colleagues Alan Dedicoat, Fran Godfrey, and John Marsh. Marsh once told Wogan on air that his wife was called Janet, and a series of "Janet and John" stories followed, read by Wogan during the breakfast show. These were a pastiche of children's learn-to-read stories, with humorous sexual double entendres, which often led to Wogan and Marsh breaking into laughter. Six CDs and two books of the stories have been sold in aid of Children in Need, raising over £4 million. A long-running campaign by Wogan criticising the British government for levying VAT on the CDs eventually led to a government rebate of £200,000. Another feature of the programme was Wogan's exchanges with "the Totty from Splotty" – Lynn Bowles, the Welsh traffic reporter from Splott, Cardiff – which often involved reading limericks from listeners cut short after one or two lines, as risqué innuendo in the later lines was telegraphed.
Wake Up to Wogan attracted an estimated audience of eight million in 2005. That figure was surpassed in 2008, as Wogan's show held off a challenge from Radio 1 for listeners during the breakfast slot. According to figures leaked to British newspapers in April 2006, Wogan was the highest-paid BBC radio presenter at that time, with an £800,000-a-year salary. In an interview with Britain's Hello! magazine in its 30 May 2006 issue, Wogan confirmed this, saying that he represented "good value". On 23 May 2005, he crossed BBC strike picket lines to present his show.
Wogan was forced off the air on 16 February 2007, when steam from a nearby gym set off fire alarms. For 15 minutes, an emergency tape played continuous music. On returning, Wogan read out several light-hearted comments from listeners, saying that they thought he had died with his sudden disappearance and the playing of such sentimental music. On 7 September 2009, Wogan confirmed to his listeners that he would be leaving the breakfast show at the end of the year, with Chris Evans taking over. The Times published an ode to Wogan: "Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone. Terry Wogan is abandoning his microphone", and novelist Allison Pearson commented: "Heard the one about the Irishman who reminded the British of what they could be at their best? His name was Terry Wogan." Wogan presented his final Radio 2 breakfast show on 18 December 2009.
It was announced that Wogan would return to Radio 2, beginning on 14 February 2010, to host a live weekly two-hour Sunday show on the network, featuring live musical performance and guests, between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm. The show, titled Weekend Wogan, was hosted in front of a live audience in the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House until the fourth series, where he returned to the studio.
Wogan continued to host the show until his final broadcast on Remembrance Sunday 2015, due to his declining health with cancer. It then continued with guest hosts until the end of that month, after which, regular cover show Madeley on Sunday presented by Richard Madeley filled the slot temporarily. Michael Ball then permanently took over the slot in April 2016.
Television work
Eurovision Song Contest
In 1971, and from 1974 until 1977, Wogan provided the BBC's radio commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest. He became known for his television commentary, which he handled first in 1973, again in 1978, and then every year from 1980 until 2008. He co-hosted the 1998 contest with Ulrika Jonsson, in Birmingham's National Indoor Arena on 9 May. Wogan was the third person in the contest's history to combine the roles of presenter and commentator. When not on stage, he was in his private booth providing commentary to BBC viewers. From 1977 until 1996, Wogan hosted the UK selection show each year, returning to the role in 1998, and again from 2003 until 2008. In 1973, 1975, every year from 1977 until 1984, and again in 1994, Wogan also presented the UK Eurovision Song Contest Previews on BBC1.Wogan's often "deadpan" commentating style, which often involved humour at the expense of others, caused controversy; for example, when he referred to the hosts of the 2001 contest in Denmark, Søren Pilmark and Natasja Crone Back, as "Doctor Death and the Tooth Fairy".
During the presentation of the Dutch points in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, Wogan called the Dutch televote presenter, Paul de Leeuw, an "eejit", as de Leeuw started to make ad lib comments, gave his mobile phone number, and generally hogged the limelight for some time before giving the Dutch votes. Chris Tarrant later praised Wogan's acerbity.
During the 2007 BBC show Making Your Mind Up, in which the British public voted to decide their Eurovision entry, Wogan incorrectly announced that the runner-up Cyndi was the winner. The winner was the group Scooch; according to the BBC, Wogan was provided with the correct result during the live show.
In the 2008 contest, the UK's entry, Andy Abraham, finished in last place, much to Wogan's disappointment. Wogan argued that Abraham gave a better performance than the entries from Spain and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Right before the Russian winning entry's reprise, he said "… and possibly goodbye, Europe."
On 11 August 2008, Wogan said in an interview with the Radio Times magazine that he was doubtful about commentating the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK again. On 5 December 2008, Wogan stepped down from the role after 35 years. Graham Norton succeeded Wogan as the UK commentator from the 2009 contest onwards.
In November 2014, Wogan reviewed Norton's autobiography for The Irish Times. Describing his attitude towards the contest, he wrote that he saw it as a "sometimes foolish farce", while implying that the winner of the 2014 contest, Austrian drag performer Conchita Wurst, was a "freakshow". Following his death, his commentary of the contest was criticised for its mocking tone.