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Showing posts with the label Children in Need

Wogan, Woe: gone.

Watching a clip of Terry Wogan’s final emotional Radio 2 sign-off on BBC Breakfast this morning reminded me just how warm, distinctive and individual his voice really was. For a child of the Eighties like me, it was ever-present; be it on his chat show, on his famously cutting commentary of the Eurovision Song Contest, on Children in Need or on Blankety Blank. It was something I took for granted, as it had always been there; even if he wasn’t in attendance himself, when the likes of Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon and Peter Serafinowicz would lovingly supply those instantly recognisable lilting inflections in his absence. He somehow managed to be both mainstream and left-field; cheekily poking fun at those around him, and more often at himself. He was a safe, yet off-kilter pair of hands to be left in, particularly when the show he was presenting was loose enough for him to improvise as he would like (which was the ones with long running-times - such as Eurovision and Children i...