Remembering Sir Terry Wogan

ATV Today celebrate with a photo gallery the life and times of broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan, who has died aged 77. Over the years Terry hosted many radio and TV series, including Lunchtime with Wogan for ATV and Blankety Blank for BBC One.

“Sir Terry Wogan died today after a short but brave battle with cancer. He passed away surrounded by his family. While we understand he will be missed by many, the family ask that their privacy is respected at this time.” –  BBC Statement

Sir Terry, born on the 3rd of August 1938, in Limerick, Ireland, began his broadcasting career after leaving college and a short spell in banking in Dublin, where the Wogan family had relocated when the young Tel was just 15. He first ventured into broadcasting in 1959 as a newsreader, including in 1963 providing the commentary for the visit to Ireland of then President of the USA, John F. Kennedy, and programme announcer for RTÉ, later switching to fronting entertainment and quiz programming. In September 1966 he relocated to London and joined BBC Radio, presenting on The Light Programme and a number of other productions. A year later and he was one of the founding ‘DJ’s’ on BBC Radio 1 alongside the likes of Tony Blackburn, John Peel and Kenny Everett.

Related Story: Stars Pay Tribute to Sir Terry Wogan

Pictured Above: 1967, Terry Wogan presents a radio programme for the BBC

In 1972 he switched to BBC Radio 2 fronting the hugely successful The Terry Wogan Show, which at its peak pulled in almost eight million listeners to the weekday broadcasts. In the same year he ventured into regular television presenting for commercial network ITV, hosting Saturday Variety and his first major chat show, Lunchtime with Wogan both from ATV.

Now a famous face across the UK Terry began to make regular guest appearances across both the BBC and ITV, including Thames TV’s All Star Comedy Carnival alongside Noele Gordon, Leslie Crowther, Larry Grayson and Peggy Mount, sitcom Bless This House starring Sid James and Diana Coupland, The Morecambe and Wise Show with Eric and Ernie (both ITV and BBC versions) and Bob Monkhouse fronted big box ATV game show Celebrity Squares.

Pictured Above: Terry Wogan at the ATV Elstree studios for an edition of Celebrity Squares in 1976

Pictured Above: A Publicity still for his ATV chat and entertainment series Lunchtime with Wogan, in 1972.

In 1974, a two years after its debut, Lunchtime with Wogan came to an end. The weekly show, made by ATV for ITV, was in production alongside Terry’s work on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, produced at Broadcasting House in London. With more offers of television work on BBC TV the rival channel’s show came to an end, with Terry becoming one of the big stars of the beeb. The majority of Lunchtime With Wogan was also produced at the Birmingham ATV Centre, the commute between the capital and the Midlands also played a part in his decision not to return for further episodes. He was rewarded in 1974 with a radio chat show, Wogan’s World, on Radio 4 and at this time also fronted weekly professional ballroom series Come Dancing for BBC One.

In 1978 he made an appearance on Top Of The Pops, following his parody single The Floral Dance climbing the UK pop chart. His vocal spoof of the instrumental hit by the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band reached number 21 in the UK Singles Chart.

1979 brought to television screens his most famous programme outside of the chat shows, low-budget game show Blankety Blank. Based on the American series Match Game, the BBC One series mixed comedy and quiz. Six celebrities battled to fill in the missing blanks in order to help members of the pubic win ‘cheap’ prizes. Regular panelists included Kenny Everett, Larry Grayson and Barry Cryer who mocked the show and Wogan, something Terry reveled in.

Pictured Above: Terry Wogan hosts Blankety Blank from 1979 to 1983

In 1980 Terry hosted his first television chat show for the BBC, with the series What’s on Wogan? Several other specials followed before landing a Saturday night slot following the departure of Michael Parkinson to ITV’s TV-am in 1982. In 1984 the show was revamped, moving from the weekend to three live half hour slots on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. EastEnders would launch as the Tuesday and Thursday 7pm show.

With the regular television work Wogan decided to bid farewell to BBC Radio 2 and the breakfast show, with his last programme airing on the network in 1984.

Pictured Above: Celebrating one year on air (1986) in their weekday slots, EastEnders and Terry Wogan’s Wogan chat show

Pictured Above: Terry Wogan during rehearsals for an episode of ‘Wogan’ in 1986

While hosting the chat show Terry also presented a number of other BBC shows including A Song For Europe, providing the narration to Eurovision and fronting from 1980 to 2014 the annual fundraiser Children In Need. In 1992 BBC One controller Alan Yentob made sweeping changes to the schedules and axed a number of popular programmes, the thrice weekly Wogan was one such casualty of the unpopular executive.

“The great maxim at the BBC is, if it ain’t broke, break it,” Wogan once observed.

The chat show continued for a short lived late night slot with the format revamped; the comfy sofa changed for a desk and a ‘trendy look’ Friday Night with Wogan, failed to lure the viewers. It was a return to BBC Radio 2 where Terry’s next big success took place, Wake Up To Wogan, became one of the most popular radio programmes in the UK, running weekdays until 2009. For the past six years Terry hosted Weekend Wogan, a two hour slot which mixed live music and interviews with popular tracks from the Radio 2 playlist. His last hosted edition aired in early November last year.

Pictured Above: Back at Radio 2 for Wake Up to Wogan (1993-2009)

Pictured Above: A BBC Radio 2 publicity photograph

Across the 1990s and 2000s Terry presented numerous television shows for the BBC including viewers correspondence series Points of View, moral dilemma entertainment production Do The Right Thing, cock-up clip show Auntie’s Bloomers, introduced classic Blankety Blank on BBC One daytime and in 1998 a ‘television version’ of his radio show with BBC One lunchtime series Wogan’s Web. 2003 saw Terry team up with Children In Need co-host Gaby Roslin for Channel 5’s daily chat and entertainment series The Terry and Gaby Show.

In 2006 he revived his chat show for a special series of programmes for UKTV with Wogan Now and Then which mixed archive chats from the BBC years alongside new interviews. In 2008 Terry fronted his first major programme for Channel 4 with the game show Wogan’s Perfect Recall and has made a number of guest appearances over recent times on shows such as This Morning, The One Show, Today with Des and Mel, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Top Gear. In 2015 he also revisited the Wogan chat show archives for BBC Two with The Best of Wogan.

Pictured Above: Wogan’s Perfect Recall for Channel 4

Pictured Above: The Terry and Gaby Show, Channel 5

Terry Wogan died earlier today aged 77, after a short illness. His family confirmed it was cancer which Terry had been diagnosed with recently. In his final months he continued to make television appearances including co-hosting a new series, Terry & Mason’s Great Food Trip with Mason McQueen for BBC Two. His last live television interviews took place on This Morning in September and BBC Breakfast in October last year. He was due to front annual telethon Children In Need in November 2015 but withdrew just 24-hours before the BBC One event. Wogan had however pre-recorded a Star Trek insert sketch for the event, with aired within the seven hour broadcast. Dermot O’Leary stepped into Sir Terry’s presenting duties.

At the time he told viewers in a statement:

“So, here we are on the 36th edition of Children in Need… and for the first time, I won’t be there, to cheer you on with word and gesture to another record-breaking year. I’m going to miss our wonderful, inspiring evening together, but I’ll be with you, watching, cheering and donating to a magnificent cause.” – Sir Terry Wogan

Pictured Above: Terry Wogan hosts Wogan Now and Then for UKTV’s Gold channel

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Sir Michael Terence “Terry” Wogan, 3rd August 1938 – 31st January 2016