A tragedy. A national disaster. A loss to the cultural landscape that should be discussed in parliament. These were just a few listener reactions when Liza Tarbuck left her Radio 2 show earlier this year. “I was bereft about it, too,” sighs Tarbuck. “I miss angsting over the playlist. I miss the texts and emails. For two hours every weekend, we were a proper gang.”
Tarbuck hosted her Saturday evening show for 14 years, building it into the funniest show on British radio. Her riotous mix of freewheeling chat and hand-picked tunes (the music could span nine decades in the same show) drew an audience of 2 million, and received more messages from listeners – 50 per minute – than any other programme on the station.
