Steve Wright fans' fury as BBC Breakfast accidentally uses a photo of fellow DJ Simon Bates in tribute - with one viewer calling the mistake 'unforgiveable'

• Awkward moment saw BBC Breakfast show photo of Simon Bates while trailing a tribute to Steve Wright
• Read more: Steve Wright’s son pays emotional tribute to BBC legend and says he got to ‘know dad in a way I never had before’ after flying from LA to care for him

Steve Wright fans have criticised BBC Breakfast after it mistakenly showed a photo of DJ Simon Bates while trailing a tribute to the late DJ.

On the news programme this morning, presenter Luxmy Gopal introduced a forthcoming tribute to Wright, who broadcast for the BBC for four decades and died aged 69 on Monday, using a photo of former BBC Radio DJ Bates.

Gopal told viewers: ‘Tributes continue to pour in from the world of radio for the legendary DJ Steve Wright. We will speak to his co-host Janey Lee Grace later on in the programme.’

Spotting the error, co-host Roger Johnson quickly interjected, saying: ‘That’s not Steve Wright by the way in case you were wondering, that’s Simon Bates.’

Much loved DJ Wright was found dead at his £2million flat on Monday morning.

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 radio personality presented programmes for BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 for more than four decades before his death.

BBC Breakfast presenters Roger Johnson and Luxmy Gopal during the awkward section where a photo of DJ Simon Bates, 77, was shown instead of Steve Wright, who died last week aged 69

The image of Simon Bates, 77,used by the BBC – where Steve Wright spent much of his career – on BBC Breakfast this morning. Bates hosts two shows for rival station Boom Radio

DJ Steve Wright was found dead at his home in London on Monday morning, leaving fans of the broadcaster devastated

Viewers were critical of the embarrassing gaffe though, with many taking to X to comment.

One wrote: ‘Should be ashamed! Showing a picture of Simon Bates when you are telling us you are going to pay tribute to Steve Wright.

‘Not like he gave his entire career to the BBC or anything! Try and get the right material ready for the piece eh!’

Another added: ‘What went wrong with the prog this morning? Trying to make a tribute about Steve Wright and wrongly showing a pic of Simon Bates? Come on! He worked in the same organisation for heavens sake. Unforgivable.’

Veteran DJ Simon Bates, 77, worked at the BBC from 1971 until 1993 and now presents shows on rival station Boom radio.

MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment.

After spotting the error, presenter Roger Johnson told viewers: ‘That’s not Steve Wright by the way in case you were wondering, that’s Simon Bates.’

Wright, one of the most familiar voices on the airwaves in the UK, died suddenly on Monday – leaving his colleagues at Radio 2 and his many fans deeply shocked.

This weekend, the late broadcaster’s son paid tribute to the BBC legend and said he got to know him in a way he ‘never had before’ while caring for him before he died.

Tom Wright had been living in Los Angeles but returned to the UK to tend to his father before his death.

In a touching post on social media, the grieving son said: ‘It meant the world to me that I was able to get to know my Dad in a way I never had in the months before he died.

‘I will cherish every moment we shared and every memory we made.

‘I only hope to make him proud and build on his legacy with kindness and love.’

After leaving BBC in 1993 he had spells at Classic FM, Gold and Smooth Radio

Steve Wright, who died at the age of 69, pictured in his studio in 1994

BBC Radio One DJ Janice Long (centre) holding an outsize pair of false teeth in 1985 alongside her then-fellow Radio 1 DJs Bruno Brookes (bottom), Steve Wright (left) and Simon Bates (right)

He added: ‘This made every struggle worthwhile to have had this time with him before we lost him.’

Just two days before his father passed away, Tom posted that he had returned to Britain to spend a week with him before he received his MBE awarded in the New Year Honours list.

He said he hopes to find comfort in recordings of his father’s radio broadcasts one day.

Tom wrote about losing both of his parents: ‘Thank the Gods I’m sober, as this would have straight up killed me even a couple years ago after losing Mum over the pandemic in the same way without getting to see him before he passed after flying back to take care of the old blighter.’

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.

Steve’s heartbroken brother blamed the BBC star’s death on his poor diet and claimed that he concealed his health problems from his family, MailOnline revealed.

READ MORE – Steve Wright’s heartbroken brother blames BBC DJ’s ‘unexpected’ death on his poor diet and claims the star hid his health problems from his family 

Laurence Wright, 65, also shut down claims that the Corporation’s decision to axe him from his long-running Radio 2 Afternoon Show contributed to his death, revealing the veteran star was ‘thankful’ for the rest.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Laurence said: ‘He was aware that he could have looked after himself better, in his lifestyle choices. Obviously we all wish he had.

‘It’s like anyone who doesn’t look after themselves over an extended period. The normal stuff – diet, nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress – he was a very stoic kind of guy as well so if he had something wrong with him and he had to go to have some treatment or go to the doctors, he wouldn’t talk about it.

‘He was the kind of guy who would just carry on, take care of it, not talk about it, not make a big thing, that kind of stoic sort of attitude.

‘That’s just how he was – that probably didn’t help really, because he wouldn’t have help or take advice necessarily.’

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