Radio 2 boss Helen Thomas sparked outrage behind the scenes at the station yesterday for issuing a statement paying tribute to Steve Wright less than 18 months after axing his popular Afternoon Show.

BBC staff are said to be ‘enraged’ at her for describing the late legendary DJ as being ‘second to none’ despite moving him from the 2pm until 5pm slot which he held for 24 years to Sunday mornings where he hosted Sunday Love Songs.

Sources at the station insisted that Ms Thomas ‘should have just kept her mouth shut’ and that her statement was ‘shameless’ and ‘tone deaf’ after she replaced Wright, who passed away on Tuesday aged 69, with Scott Mills.

Shortly after Wright’s sudden death was announced in a statement by his family yesterday afternoon, Ms Thomas said the radio veteran understood the connection and companionship that radio engendered better than anyone ‘and we all loved him for it.’

She added: ‘He was a consummate professional whose attention to detail was always second to none, and he made his guests laugh, he was fair, and he wanted to showcase them and their work in the best possible light, bringing brilliant stories to our listeners.

Radio 2 boss Helen Thomas sparked outrage behind the scenes at the station yesterday for issuing a statement paying tribute to Steve Wright less than 18 months after axing his popular Afternoon Show (pictured Steve Wright)

BBC staff are said to be ‘enraged’ at her for describing the late legendary DJ as being ‘second to none’ despite moving him from the 2pm until 5pm slot which he held for 24 years to Sunday mornings where he hosted Sunday Love Songs (pictured BBC R2 boss Helen Thomas)

‘Steve was the first presenter I ever produced, more than 20 years ago, and I remember the pure amazement I felt, sitting opposite this legendary broadcaster whose shows I had listened to and marvelled at whilst growing up in Hull.’

But employees at BBC HQ were left raging, with one telling MailOnline: ‘It is unbelievable that Helen has just come out and said this, she must have forgotten that she moved him from a job he had held for 24 years.

‘It was utterly disgraceful. She was also behind getting rid of Ken Bruce and Paul O’Grady. It really would have gone down better if she had said nothing at all.’

Their views were shared by hundreds of listeners who took to social media to share their dismay at Ms Thomas moving him from the afternoon slot.

One wrote on X – formerly known as Twitter: ‘Ironic hearing all the tributes for the late, great Steve Wright. 

‘Pity R2 controller Helen Thomas didn’t show him the same respect when she stripped him of his fantastic afternoon show.

While another said: ‘I wonder how Helen Thomas feels about the number and the magnitude of people posting about Steve Wright? She really didn’t get how massive the man was.’

Meanwhile, one former fan said: ‘Listening to all that is being said – on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 especially – about Steve Wright, just goes to reinforce that Helen Thomas, quite simply, didn’t have a clue. How on earth did she manage to get the job of Head of BBC Radio 2 and to be able to do so much damage.’

Radio fans were stunned in 2022 when Wright was sacked from his Afternoon Show slot – bringing to an end his much loved show (pictured early in his career in 1980)

Sources at the station insisted that Ms Thomas ‘should have just kept her mouth shut’ and that her statement was ‘shameless’ and ‘tone deaf’

Radio fans were stunned in 2022 when Wright was sacked from his Afternoon Show slot – bringing to an end his much loved show.

Following the news that his time on air would be coming to a close, the star was asked how he was feeling and he said at the time: ‘Sometimes people want you, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes there are changes and they give you another offer – and that’s OK. I understand that, I really understand that.’

His final programme in that timeslot was broadcast on September 30 2022, with Wright playing Radio Ga Ga by Queen as his last record.