BBC will rebroadcast the late Steve Wright's first Top Of The Pops appearance from 1980 in a tribute to the beloved entertainer this weekend

• The late radio presenter died in his home on Monday at he age of  69

The late radio presenter Steve Wright’s first appearance on Top Of The Pops will be rebroadcast by the BBC.

Four Top Of The Pops episodes from the BBC archive, which will include Wright’s last shows, will air on Friday.

The episodes from more than 40 years ago will feature performances by Sir Cliff Richard, Madonna, Wham! duo George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, Whitney Houston, The Buggles, Cher and Billy Joel.

The corporation announced that the broadcaster, who died on Monday at the age of 69 and had worked across BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2, would continue to be celebrated into the weekend.

A BBC spokeswoman said: ‘We’ve been remembering Steve on air all week together with our presenters and listeners, and we’ll continue to celebrate his decades with the BBC this weekend.

Steve Wright was found dead at his £2million flat on Monday morning after paramedics were called to an ‘incident’

Tributes have poured in for the broadcasting star who had worked across BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2

Four Top Of The Pops episodes from the BBC archive, which will include Wright’s last shows, will air on Friday

‘On BBC Four, audiences can catch his first ever Top Of The Pops from 1980, on BBC Sounds there’s a special collection and this weekend’s Pick Of The Pops and Sunday Love Songs will be dedicated to Steve, presented by Gary Davies and Liza Tarbuck.’

Wright joined BBC Radio 1 in 1980 to host a Saturday evening show before moving on to host Steve Wright In The Afternoon a year later, where he stayed until 1993.

He then fronted the Radio 1 Breakfast show for a year until 1995, and completed a stint at commercial radio stations before returning to BBC Radio 2 in 1996 to host Steve Wright’s Saturday Show and Sunday Love Songs.

In 1999, he recreated Steve Wright In The Afternoon every weekday on Radio 2, with celebrity interviews and entertaining trivia featured in his Factoids segment, before stepping down in September 2022 – he continued to present Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2.

In a schedule shake-up, former BBC Radio 1 host Scott Mills took over the afternoon slot.

Steve Wright was found dead at his £2million flat on Monday morning after paramedics were called to an ‘incident’.

Emergency services rushed to the star’s home in Marylebone, central London, just after 10am on February 12, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The episodes form more than 40 years ago will include performances by Sir Cliff Richard, Madonna, Wham! and Whitney Houston

Steve hosted Top of the Pops from 1980 to 1989 while hosting other radio shows including Steve Wright In The Afternoon and Sunday Love Songs

His ‘unexpected’ death is not being treated as suspicious with a report being prepared for the coroner, police said

His ‘unexpected’ death is not being treated as suspicious with a report being prepared for the coroner, police said.

READ MORE: Inside Steve Wright’s bitter exit from the BBC: How broadcasting legend left Radio 2 after feeling ‘unwanted’ as heartbreaking video resurfaces following his death – while corporation faces fierce backlash over star’s treatment

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We were called at 10.07am on Monday 12 February to reports of an incident.

‘We sent a number of resources to the scene. Very sadly, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.’

It comes as the last picture of the legendary broadcaster shows him larking around and taking ‘ironic selfies’ with a friend in New York just weeks before his death.

Tributes have poured in for the radio star.

Presenter Sara Cox said: ‘It’s really hard to know what to say about the news of Steve Wright’s passing, except we are all shocked and devastated and blindsided by this news.

‘Steve was an extraordinary broadcaster, a really kind person, he was witty, he was warm, and he was a huge, huge part of the Radio 2 family, and I know my fellow DJs will all be absolutely shattered too.’

Dame Esther Rantzen, who was interviewed by Wright on many occasions, said he was a unique broadcaster.

‘He created a kind of club which whether he was interviewing you or whether you were enjoying it as a listener, you looked forward to joining every day,’ she said.

‘It is a very rare quality, and he made it sound easy. It was frequently very funny, and when he left his daily afternoon show he really knocked a hole in the day for many of us who relied on his company. He will be a real loss.’

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