Sir Terry Wogan leaves BBC Radio 2 breakfast show

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Sir Terry Wogan has presented his final BBC Radio 2 weekday breakfast show after hosting Wake Up To Wogan on the station for sixteen years. Wogan originally presented The Terry Wogan Show on the radio station between 1972 and 1984, in which his supporters were “Twits” — the Terry Wogan is Tops Society. Since Wake Up To Wogan commenced in 1993, the listeners were referred to as TOGs — Terry’s Old Geezers/Gals. Now, after presenting the weekday breakfast show regularly for 16 years, Terry Wogan has left.

He first announced his departure from the show in September of this year. After playing “That’ll Do” by the Black Dyke Mills Band, Wogan made his final speech at 0926 GMT. He proclaimed these words: “This is it, then. This is the day I have been dreading — the inevitable morning when you and I come to the parting of the ways, the last Wake Up To Wogan.

“It wasn’t always thus. For the first 12 years it was the plain old Terry Wogan Show and you were all Twits, the Terry Wogan is Tops Society. When I returned to the bosom of our family, it became Wake Up To Wogan and you all became TOGs, Terry’s Old Geezers and Gals. It’s always been a source of enormous pride to me that you have come together in my name, that you are proud to call yourself my listeners, that you think of me as a friend, someone that you are close enough to laugh with, to poke fun at and occasionally, when the world seemed just a little too cruel, to shed a tear with. And the years together with you have not only been a pleasure but a privilege. You have allowed me to share your lives with you. When you tell me how important I have been in your lives it’s very moving. You have been every bit as important in mine. We have been though at least a couple of generations together, for many of you — your children, like mine, now have children of their own. And your support for Children In Need has been consistent and magnificent. You’ve baked the bakes, you’ve held the quizzes, you’ve sold the calendars, you’ve packed the CDs and the DVDs. You’ve answered the phones — always there when we’ve called on you, unheralded and unsung. And if anybody embodies the generous, warm spirit of this country it’s you, my listeners.

“I am not going to pretend that this is not a sad day — you can probably hear it in my voice. I am going to miss the laughter and the fun of our mornings together. I know you are going to welcome Chris Evans with the same generosity of spirit that you have always shown me. So, I am going to miss you, until we are together again in February, have a happy Christmas. Thank you, thank you for being my friend.”

After this speech, he played “The Party’s Over” by the late Anthony Newley. Wogan will be replaced by Chris Evans, who currently hosts Chris Evans Drivetime every weekday evening, in January 2010.