He made us feel better ...that's all you can ask

Singer Michael Ball and friends on why radio DJ and TV presenter was loved by the nation

- BY JACKIE ANNETT

TERRY Wogan's gentle Irish voice and personal warmth made millions of listeners feel like he was a dear T friend and earned him the admiration of his peers. His colleagues remember him fondly, with Zoe Ball once describing him as a family member.

And from today, to mark 10 years since Sir Terry's death, aged 77, on January 31, 2016, a special tribute to the star, presented by Zoe, will be available on BBC Sounds.

Wogan: In His Own Words centres on an interview with the radio and Eurovision legend at the height of his fame in the 1980s, in which he reflects on everything from his family to his career.

First broadcast in 2022 to mark 50 years since his first BBC breakfast show, it included a host of celebrity tributes. The new, enhanced version, includes fresh words from Zoe, who I was hosting the Radio 1 breakfast show in the late 90s while Terry presented his Radio 2 morning show.

She says: "Terry was the greatest of all time. I, like everyone else, absolutely adored him. He made every listener feel he was talking just to them. So naturally gifted, hilarious, naughty, inclusive and he had such empathy." One contributor back in 2022 was rival DJ Chris Moyles, whose Radio 1 show pulled in around 7.2 million listeners, but was trumped by Wake Up to Wogan on Radio 2, which had around 8.1 million.

In a speech at Terry's induction into the Radio Academy's Hall of Fame in 2009, Chris, now 51, said: "The reason Terry Wogan is brilliant is because he's Terry Wogan and no one else is Terry Wogan.