[Brekkie]

Also worth noting that Steve’s covering for Jo Whiley next week from 7-9pm (Mon-Thurs) with a show called ‘Steve Wright’s Summer Nights’.

Surprised they're putting him in one of their more credible slots.

Having the word "serious" in the title of the slot is pretty clear sarcasm. Having to explain that feels like having to explain comedy to Tumble Tower.

When did it start? The point is the joke was as dated as the rest of the show.

[scottishtv]

The main reason I find Steve quite frustrating is because I really enjoyed his Radio 1 shows as a kid growing up. He's just not really changed with the times at all.

Serious Jockin' wasn't my cup of tea. In it's favour, the whole "no g" gimmick seemed to land well with some listeners and set him apart from similar, bland Kitchen Disco/Club Classics stuff you'd find elsewhere. What was truly cringe was the alter-ego character "DJ Silly Boi". Totally unneccessary and quite embarrassing.

You just needed to listen to the likes of Scott & Chris on Radio 1 at the time, or even Liza Tarbuck on the same station, to see how you can be yourself but engage with the listeners in fun, original ways with a few laughs along the way. Even with Love Songs, I feel Steve just reads the dedication straight (not that fluently) and often doesn't even say thanks or add his own congratulations to top-and-tail it, or build on the interaction in any way. Just feels a bit cold.

[Robert Williams]

The main reason I find Steve quite frustrating is because I really enjoyed his Radio 1 shows as a kid growing up. He's just not really changed with the times at all.

Serious Jockin' wasn't my cup of tea.  In it's favour, the whole "no g" gimmick seemed to land well with some listeners and set him apart from similar, bland Kitchen Disco/Club Classics stuff you'd find elsewhere.  What was truly cringe was the alter-ego character "DJ Silly Boi".  Totally unneccessary and quite embarrassing.

You just needed to listen to the likes of Scott & Chris on Radio 1 at the time, or even Liza Tarbuck on the same station, to see how you can be yourself but engage with the listeners in fun, original ways with a few laughs along the way.  Even with Love Songs, I feel Steve just reads the dedication straight (not that fluently) and often doesn't even say thanks or add his own congratulations to top-and-tail it, or build on the interaction in any way. Just feels a bit cold.

I too used to enjoy the show in the Radio 1 show when I used to listen in the late 80s and early 90s, and I think it started off okay when Steve re-emerged on Radio 2 (firstly at the weekend and then back in the afternoons from 1999) but it wasn't long before it became stuck in a rut and just felt like a pale shadow of what he used to do on Radio 1.

One of the problems I had was that so many elements of the show were recorded in advance - the Factoids, the guests, the chats with Tim and Janey etc - resulting in a show that felt pre-packaged and lacked the spontaneity that you get in live radio shows.

I bailed out of the Big Show around 2008 by which time I felt it was long past its sell-by date, so it seems astonishing that it lasted for nearly another decade-and-a-half - when I came back to it in its last few weeks, I found a show that was barely changed from when I last listened.

Scott's Radio 2 show is hardly a paragon of broadcasting brilliance, but a refresh of the afternoons was long overdue.

[Stooky Bill]

I think Scott is struggling, especially compared with Vernon who seemed to settle in very quickly.

He's not someone I listened to when he was on Radio 1 but I know he was at the top of his game there. He feels like he needs someone in the studio to bounce off

Steve Wright in the evenings will be interesting. Like with Sunday morning and soon POTP it'll be nice to hear him doing something that isn't his tired afternoon shtick

[all new phil]

I think Scott’s show is great. Maybe it’s missing some of the features he was so good at on Radio 1 - I suspect there’s a much smaller team behind him now though. There’s a risk of it becoming the same show each day, like what Sara Cox seems to be heading towards too (much as I love her).

[JMT1985]

I believe the missing element from Scott's show is Chris Stark - he really built up a great friendship and rapport with Chris, and now Chris is gone, working at Capital, he doesn't have that buddy to chat with and bounce off.

Problem is, if he brings in a new person, it wouldn't look right, as you can't make another friendship like that again in quick time.

[Omnipresent]

I was a huge fan of Steve Wright in the Afternoon on Radio 1 with the posse (Nicola Hack, Richard Easter, Mick Wilkojc etc) and the various characters and recurring sketches. The show was a ratings juggernaut giving Radio 1 a huge audience share.

It wasn't until late 1993 when the NME did a feature on Radio 1 did I learn that much of it was pre-recorded, which did shatter the illusion somewhat. This was one reason why Steve didn't work at breakfast.

I did listen to Steve on Radio 2 during lockdown. The familiarity and predictability was a comfort blanket to an extent. But much of it was redundant, like recapping headlines from the news bulletins which you knew from your phone were now out of date. Steve also did once accidentally play out the wrong guest interview, giving away it was pre-recorded.

[Brekkie]

I think Scott is struggling, especially compared with Vernon who seemed to settle in very quickly.

He's not someone I listened to when he was on Radio 1 but I know he was at the top of his game there. He feels like he needs someone in the studio to bounce off

I agree - it has improved but it feels very much like radio by numbers with just the very routine "Birthday game" and "Music Police" as regular features, along with the revived Wonder Years which feels more for the benefit of BBC Sounds.   It probably only needs one or two new features to land to improve things further , but feels like more effort went into the extra hour of the Sara Cox show than the two hours that precede it.   

Vernon on the other hand now feels like he owns that slot and that he's been on mornings for years, not weeks.  Especially like the Vernon Vault feature.

[bilky asko]

Serious Jockin' wasn't my cup of tea.  In it's favour, the whole "no g" gimmick seemed to land well with some listeners and set him apart from similar, bland Kitchen Disco/Club Classics stuff you'd find elsewhere.  What was truly cringe was the alter-ego character "DJ Silly Boi".  Totally unneccessary and quite embarrassing.

One of the problems I had was that so many elements of the show were recorded in advance - the Factoids, the guests, the chats with Tim and Janey etc - resulting in a show that felt pre-packaged and lacked the spontaneity that you get in live radio shows.

Though, of course, Serious Jockin' was one segment that was live. Plenty of opportunity to contribute your own torturous "no-g pun".

Steve also did once accidentally play out the wrong guest interview, giving away it was pre-recorded.

He did often signpost that the interviews were pre-recorded, it rarely some big secret from what I recall.

[TVViewer256]

I’ve got to say I do prefer Ken Bruce and listen to him on GHR when I can but whenever I’ve listened to Vernon he seems very comfortable and at home. He’s certainly settled in very well and whilst his show’s not my first choice it’s still a very good listen.