''Paul O'Grady on the Wireless'' (billed as ''Paul O'Grady'' and referred to on-air as ''TeamPOG'' or ''TeamPOGradio'') was the incarnation of the Sunday teatime show on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

from 5 April 2009 to 14 August 2022, hosted by

Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady (14 June 1955 – 28 March 2023) was an English comedian, broadcaster, drag queen, actor, and writer. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag persona Lily Savage, through which he gained ...

. It was produced by Malcolm Prince, who also made regular contributions to the programme, and it regularly attracted over two million listeners. It was broadcast on Sundays between 17:00 and 19:00. From its inception until 13 February 2022, the show was broadcast every Sunday. On 2 February 2022, it was announced that BBC management had decided to reduce the number of shows per year from 40 to 26, and that O'Grady would take a break for three months, with the replacement programme hosted by

Rob Beckett Robert Anthony Beckett (born 2 January 1986) is an English comedian, actor, and presenter. He was a co-host on the ITV2 spin-off show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'' from 2012 to 2014. Since 2016, Beckett has been a team captain ...

. O’Grady returned on 22 May 2022 for a new series of thirteen shows which ran until mid-August. He continued to broadcast from his home. On 9 August 2022, it was announced that O'Grady would be leaving the network after fourteen years and that the final show of the series, the 546th edition on Sunday 14 August, would be the last to air on Radio 2. His producer Prince also left the BBC. Beckett replaced him full time on Sunday afternoons. On 21 November 2022, Prince announced that he and O'Grady would return to host the annual Christmas Day special on

Boom Radio Boom Radio (also Boom Radio UK) is an independent, commercial, national radio station in the United Kingdom. Owned by Boom Radio Ltd, the station is aimed at baby boomers, the generation of people born between 1946 and 1964. Launched on 14 Febr ...

, with O'Grady again broadcasting from home. The show was to return for an Easter special on Boom Radio on 9 April 2023, and a regular slot in May but this was cancelled due to O'Grady's sudden death on 28 March and was replaced by a specially adapted repeat of his 2022 Christmas show, including an introduction by Prince. Plus, three of the show's specials were made available to listen to again on

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

and were re-broadcast by Radio 2. The series was never actually billed as ''Paul O'Grady on the Wireless''; in the ''Radio Times'', it was simply listed as ''Paul O'Grady''.

Background

O'Grady confirmed in 2008 that he would be getting his own show on Radio 2 and no longer covering for presenters on other programmes. The show marked O'Grady's permanent role as a Radio 2 presenter, following numerous stints standing in on other shows including ''

Elaine Paige on Sunday ''Elaine Paige on Sunday'' (often referred to on air as ''EPOS'') is a British radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday afternoons from 1:00pm to 3:00pm, that is hosted by the actress and singer Elaine Paige. The show launched on 5 Sept ...

''. The programme celebrated its 200th show on 24 February 2013, its 300th show on 17 May 2015, its 400th show on 11 February 2018, and its 500th show on 28 March 2021. It celebrated its 10th birthday on 7 April 2019. The programme was off-air from March to June 2020 due to the

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. It then aired a series of compilation shows, before returning for new pre-recorded shows on 9 August 2020, with O'Grady presenting from his home, rather than in the studio. The 11 April 2021 edition was cancelled following the

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

two days earlier.

Format

The show aired from 17:00 to 19:00 on Sundays and was often pre-recorded during the preceding week, although early in the show's run it had been broadcast live on most weeks. The show's format consisted of music intertwined with emails and messages from listeners, and regular features such as: *All-Star Triple – Three tracks, played in a row, from the same artist. This first replaced the Motown Triple in the second hour of the programme from October 2010. However, at the end of the year, the All Star Triple replaced both the Northern Soul and Motown Triples and features in both hours. *Thank You – A chance for listeners to say "thank you" to people that have made a positive difference to their lives. Each Thank You message read out by O'Grady on-air received a "Certificate of Thanks" signed by O'Grady, and the best letter or email of the week, as also chosen by O'Grady, received a box of chocolates and a T-shirt. *Cocktail Hour – An easy-listening track accompanied by a cocktail recommendation in the first hour of the programme. *Lost TV Theme – Each week, in the second hour of the programme, O'Grady played a "lost" theme tune from an old television programme in full, as well as providing some background information about the programme. *Wish You Were There – In the second hour of the programme, O'Grady played a relaxing piece of music designed to "whisk you away to your own piece of paradise". "Wish You Were There" did not feature in every edition of the programme. *Hi-NRG Classic – Occasionally, O'Grady featured a "Hi-NRG Classic" as part of the playlist. *Dead Pets – Listeners were invited to pay tribute to their deceased pets. O'Grady read out these letters or emails to "Just a Closer Walk with Thee". *Lost Shops or Pubs – Listeners were invited to write or email to the show to inquire give information about their favourite "lost" shops or pubs. *Lost Film – Occasionally, towards the end of the show, O'Grady read out a "lost film" inquiry that had been sent by a listener who wanted to know the name of a particular film that they have seen but cannot remember. This film was revisited during a future programme, where listeners' responses were read out. *Lost Friends – Listeners were invited to email the show if they wished to get in touch with a person that they had lost contact with. *It's a Small World – Whenever O'Grady read out a letter from a listener based outside the United Kingdom, an extract from the song "It's a Small World" (the title song to

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's series of theme park rides) was played by producer Malcolm Prince. O'Grady acted disgusted and tried to ruin the clip as much as possible, as he apparently disliked the song. *A Blast from Our Eurovision Past – O'Grady played a past Eurovision winning song in the second hour of the show. *Classy Classical Choice – O'Grady played a classical music track in the second hour of the show. *Northern Soul Triple – In the first hour of the programme, three Northern Soul tracks were played in a row. This feature was axed at the end of 2010 and replaced with the "All Star Triple". From January 2011, each week O'Grady featured a Northern Soul track and a Motown track in the playlist for any listeners who were missing the defunct triples. *Motown Triple – In the second hour of the programme, three Motown tracks were played in a row. This feature was axed at the end of September 2010 and replaced with the "All Star Triple". *Competition – In the first few months of the programme, listeners were invited to enter a light-hearted monthly competition. The first competition was entitled "Tea for Two on 2" and ran between April and July 2009. In the first round, the winner was given the opportunity to have tea with O'Grady and the team at the studios. In the other three months, the winner would receive a luxury hamper filled with tea, scones, biscuits and cakes, or could have tea with O'Grady and the team as the "booby prize". The second competition was entitled "Pressing Paul" and ran between August and October 2009. In each of these months, a listener could win the opportunity to have their washing and ironing taken care of by the show, in order to give themselves a break on a Sunday. O'Grady did not take any of the competitions seriously and told listeners "Please don't enter" and "You could win a luxury hamper filled with tea, scones, jams, biscuits, cakes and trifles...or you could opt for the booby prize and join me and the team for tea in the green room!". The competition feature was "rested" after the October 2009 competition but did not return.

Stand-in presenters

Bill Kenwright William Kenwright (4 September 1945 – 23 October 2023) was an English theatre and film producer. He was also the chairman of Everton Football Club for nearly two decades, from 2004 until his death in 2023. Early life Kenwright was born in ...

(2009) * Richard Allinson (2009) *

Jodie Prenger Jodie Christine Prenger (born 12 June 1979) is an English actress and singer, best known for winning the second series of ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2006 and the BBC talent show '' I'd Do Anything'' in 2008, the latter of which subsequently laun ...

(2010–2012) *

Martine McCutcheon Martine Kimberley Sherrie McCutcheon (formerly Ponting, born 14 May 1976) is an English actress and singer. She began appearing in television commercials at an early age and made her television debut in the children's television drama '' Bluebir ...

(2014) *

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (25 April 1944 – 22 April 2023) was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance competition adjudicator. He appeared as head judge on the UK television programme ''Strictly Come Dancing'' – in w ...

(2013–18) *

Nicki Chapman Nicki Chapman (born 14 January 1967) is an English television and radio presenter, talent show judge and public relations agent who previously worked in the British pop music industry. Chapman was a judge on the ITV reality shows ''Popstars ...

(2016) *

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster, and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeo ...

Melanie Sykes Melanie Ann Sykes (born 1970) is an English former television and radio presenter. She is best known for co-hosting '' Today with Des and Mel'' with Des O'Connor and '' Let's Do Lunch'' with Gino D'Acampo. She also co-hosted ''Going Out with Ala ...

(2017–20) *

Christopher Biggins Christopher Biggins (born 16 December 1948) is an English actor and television personality. He became widely known for his roles in television series such as ''Porridge'', '' Poldark'' and '' I, Claudius'' in the 1970s. He later became known for ...

(2017) *

Richard Madeley Richard Holt Madeley ( born 13 May 1956) is an English television presenter and writer. Alongside his wife Judy Finnigan, he presented ITV's '' This Morning'' (1988–2001) and the Channel 4 chat show ''Richard & Judy'' (2001–2008). Madeley ...

(2018) *

Gaby Roslin Gaby Roslin (born 12 July 1964) is an English television and radio presenter who rose to fame co-presenting ''The Big Breakfast'' on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996. Roslin also presented the ''Children in Need'' charity telethons on the BBC be ...

(2018) *

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...

(2019) *

Paddy O'Connell Guy Patrick "Paddy" O'Connell (born 11 March 1966, in Guildford, Surrey) is an English television and radio presenter. He presents BBC Radio 4's '' Broadcasting House'' programme and '' Newsnight''. He is also an occasional presenter of the '' ...

(2020–21) *

Patrick Kielty Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) is a comedian, presenter and actor from Northern Ireland. He is the host of '' The Late Late Show'' on RTÉ One and presents a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. His television credits include ...

(2021)

Special editions

On 14 November 2010, Radio 2 hosted its annual "Children in Need Music Marathon". O'Grady was joined by

in the studio from 16:00–19:00 on this day, as they took listener's requests, pledges and donations. On 6 November 2011, the second hour of the show was dedicated to an interview with

Susan Boyle Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer who rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of '' Britain's Got Talent'', singing " I Dreamed a Dream" from '. As of 2021, Boyle has sold 25 ...

. On 13 November 2011, Radio 2 hosted its "Children in Need Jukebox". O'Grady presented the final two hours of the Jukebox, between 17:00 and 19:00. He was joined in the studio by

Jane McDonald Jane Anne McDonald (born 4 April 1963) is an English singer, songwriter and television presenter. Born and raised in Wakefield, McDonald spent much of her early career performing in local clubs and pubs before landing work as a singer on crui ...

in the first hour and

in the second hour, as they took listener's requests, pledges and donations. The show had a lunchtime slot on Christmas Day from 2009 to 2017 and again from 2019 to 2021. O'Grady had also presented his own Christmas Day show in 2008 before his regular show began. The Christmas Day show returned for the last time in 2022 on

References

External links