By Matt Strudwick and Emily Jane Davies
09:03 18 Feb 2024, updated 10:04 18 Feb 2024
- Cyndi Robinson died aged 65 in July 2020 and neighbours say DJ ‘shut down’
Steve Wright became extremely withdrawn and stopped going out after his ex-wife died during Covid, it has been claimed.
Locals living near the DJ’s £2million flat, where he was found dead aged 69 on Monday morning, say he ‘completely shut down’ after the pandemic.
Neighbours told The Sun he stopped drinking in the area and believe the sudden death of his ex-wife Cyndi Robinson at the age of 65 in July 2020 had hit Wright hard.
The couple divorced ‘out of the blue’ in 1999 after 27 years of marriage in which they had two children together – Lucy and Tom.
Wright’s son, Tom, had been living in Los Angeles but revealed he returned to the UK to care for his father before his death.
One neighbour said Wright stopped going out in recent years after the country came out of the Covid pandemic.
‘He was a different person. even before his radio show ended,’ they said.
‘He was extremely withdrawn.’
It has been claimed Wright was in talks to host his own TV show, 18-months after being replaced on the radio by Scott Mills.
His friend of 40 years, publicist Gary Farrow, said he believes Wright ‘died from a broken heart’ after he was ‘devastated’ to lose his popular Radio 2 afternoon slot in 2022.
But Tom has now spoken out about his gratitude over getting the opportunity to bond with his father in his final days.
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.’
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.’
Wright was found dead at his £2million flat on Monday morning after paramedics were called to an ‘incident’, MailOnline revealed.
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.
His ‘unexpected’ death is not being treated as suspicious with a report being prepared for the coroner, police said.
The radio personality presented programmes for BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 for more than four decades.
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.
Wright’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.
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.’
He said Wright didn’t feel he should have been sacked from his popular show – but needed a break.
Laurence, a director of a company in the health industry, says his older brother’s tendency for eating out at restaurants combined with his reluctance to talk about various ‘health issues’, keeping his family in the dark, were the main factors behind his shock death.
Meanwhile, 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 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.’
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.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
