BBC broadcast legend Walter Love dies aged 88 as colleagues and fans pay tribute

Veteran broadcaster Walter Love sadly passed away on Friday, his family has confirmed. The cherished host spend 77 years working on BBC radio

Veteran broadcaster Walter Love has passed away at the age of 88, it has been announced.

The radio host died at a nursing home surrounded by friends and family on Friday evening. He is best known for having hosted shows including Radio Ulster's Day By Day and Love in the Afternoon and presented Sunday Love Forty. His final show, Jazz Club with Walter Love, aired for the last time in 2023.

Director of BBC NI Adam Smyth penned a sweet tribute to the legendary host, saying: "He loved presenting radio programmes and his melodious voice, ability to create rapport, and his encyclopaedic knowledge of music made him one of our longest-serving and best-loved broadcasters."

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Fans have paid tribute to Walter on social media. One listener wrote: "Walter Love - a talented and versatile broadcaster and an instantly recognisable BBC voice for generations of listeners. A sad loss…" Another person added: "RIP Walter Love. Legend."

A third person said: "The nicest of men, the finest of broadcasters. But primarily, a charming, erudite gentleman who loved jazz and travelling. A life-enhancing good man." "Sad news. Have great memories of The Jazz Club. R.I.P Walter," a fourth added.

BBC colleague Annie-Marie Wallace wrote: "We lost our gorgeous Walter Love today. He was the best colleague and friend you could hope for. Walter never lost his sense of fun and always had a joke to tell when he came in. I'm so glad I got to know him but we will all miss him so much."

According to his family, Love had passed away after a short illness. He first started in radio in the 1950s as a freelance contributor, before landing a job as a studio manager in London. Walter spent decades of his life in the studio, as his colleagues described him as being an "incredible performer on air" and being "genial, kind, and cheerful."

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