Ed Stewart - A Tribute

Anneka Rice pays tribute to the consummate DJ, broadcaster and television presenter Ed Stewart, with archive clips from his work on pirate radio, BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2, Junior Choice, Top Of The Pops, and the children’s TV series Crackerjack.

Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart has been a stalwart of popular music broadcasting, and his shows were enjoyed by millions of listeners. He was one of the first presenters on Radio 1 when it launched in 1967, and went on to be a regular Radio 2 presenter, with Junior Choice becoming a household favourite on the network on Christmas Day from 2007 to 2015 - a playlist of pure nostalgia for Christmas morning with all the music chosen by the Radio 2 listeners young and old.

His broadcasting career spanned more than 50 years, starting when he was an announcer with Radio Hong Kong. During his 15 years at Radio 2, Ed broadcast from the summits of Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Mount Vesuvius, and also broadcast live from the Falkland Islands.

On Christmas morning 2015, Stewpot returned with a nostalgic Junior Choice playlist. In olden times requests were asked for 'on a postcard please', but this time his listeners got in touch with Radio 2 by text, email and social media.

Contributors to this tribute programme include Dame Barbara Windsor, Johnny Beerling, Jan Hunt, Noel Edmonds (who sent his first demo tape to Ed, with great success), Bernie Clifton, Zoe Ball, Keith Skues, Johnnie Walker and David Hamilton.

Presenter/Anneka Rice, Producer/Mark Simpson, Writer & Co-Producer /Phil Hughes

Publicity contact: BBC Radio 2 Publicity