Mark Goodier to host Radio 2's Pick Of The Pops

Broadcaster Mark Goodier is to host BBC Radio 2's long-running Pick Of The Pops show, following the death of DJ Steve Wright earlier this year.

Goodier, who was friends with Wright, said he was "honoured" to be taking over, "although I wish it were in happier circumstances".

He will start in July, with Gary Davies holding the fort until then.

Radio 2 previously announced that Michael Ball would replace Wright on the popular Sunday Love Songs show.

Wright presented his final Radio 2 show on 11 February. The unexpected news of his death came from the broadcaster's family, just two days later.

The Metropolitan Police later confirmed the presenter had been found dead at home, adding that the death was not being treated as suspicious.

Wright was a radio innovator, who has been credited with helping "to redefine the role of a disc jockey" after introducing his lively, Zoo-format shows to Radio 1 in the 1980s.

He went on to front the Radio 1 Breakfast Show from 1994 to 1995, and enjoyed a stint in commercial radio, before joining BBC Radio 2 in 1996 to host Steve Wright's Saturday Show and Sunday Love Songs.

In 1999, he also revived his weekday "Steve Wright in the Afternoon" show, featuring celebrity interviews, show business news and "factoids" trivia.

He took over Pick Of The Pops last year, after time was called on his daily show.

The chart-based show was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1955, and subsequently transferred to Radio 1 before finding its current home on Radio 2.

The original presenter was Franklin Engelmann, who played "a selection from the top shelf of current popular gramophone records".

A few weeks later, Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock topped the charts - becoming the first number one of the rock era, and kick-starting the transformation of the singles chart.

The chart rundown quickly became an essential part of the programme, and the arrival of Australian DJ Alan "Fluff" Freeman in 1961 made the programme even more popular.

Freeman's rapid-fire delivery and grab bag of catchphrases allowed the BBC to hold its own against the competition of pirate radio; and Pick Of The Pops moved from the Light Programme to become a simultaneous broadcast on Radio 1 and 2 when they launched in 1967.

The theme tune - At the Sign of the Swingin' Cymbal - was rearranged by Barbara Moore in 1970 and is still in use today.

However, the format of the programme has changed, featuring classic charts from the past rather than the latest countdown.

Freeman handed over to Dale Winton in 2000 on his retirement. The programme has since been presented by Tony Blackburn and Paul Gambaccini.

In a statement, Goodier said: "I can't wait to reminisce with Radio 2 listeners as we revisit two years in their lives, playing some of the best records ever made."