Steve Wright's pal 'due to meet him on day he died'

A friend of Steve Wright has revealed he was due to meet the star on the day his death was announced.

Former BBC Radio Bedfordshire presenter Gavin McCoy first met the Radio 2 presenter on a commercial radio station in Reading in 1976.

He featured on Wright's radio shows performing characters such as Sid the Manager and Gervais the Hairdresser.

McCoy said his friend pulled out of a lunch arrangement as he was "feeling a bit under the weather".

The two presenters met on Radio 210 in Reading where they "instantly had rapport".

McCoy, who was one of the first presenters on BBC Radio Bedfordshire in 1985, which later became BBC Radio Three Counties, said: "We both used to like doing silly voices and we'd talk to each other in these silly voices.

"We had so much in common that we became really good friends straight away."

When Wright joined BBC Radio 1, he invited McCoy to perform characters such as Sid the Manager, Gervais the Hairdresser and Malcolm from the Arts Council.

He said he used to hear people impersonating the voices in public and often heard catchphrases he came up with on the bus.

McCoy praised Wright, who he described as his "best pal" for the hard work he put into his shows.

He explained: "His genius was to prepare everything in advance, the illusion was that he made it all look casual and spontaneous."

The former presenter was told about his friend's passing before the news was made public.

He recalled: "We were due to be out for lunch on Tuesday lunchtime but Steve sent me a message saying he was 'feeling a bit under the weather'."

McCoy said he "didn't think anything more about it" until he heard from Wright's daughter that the radio presenter had passed away.

He praised the "self-effacing" star who "had no interest in material things at all".

The friend added: "He would always tell me had no talent and was just getting away with it... He wanted to be regarded as just an ordinary bloke.

"It seems impossible that somebody can just pass away and you don't even get a chance to say goodbye to them."

A special edition of Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs, hosted by Liza Tarbuck, is on BBC Radio 2 from 09:00 until 11:00 GMT and on BBC Sounds.