Michael Ball issues plea to BBC Radio 2 listeners amid 'boycott' backlash to Steve Wright replacement

Ball will take over the 9am-11am slot on Sunday mornings while comedian Paddy McGuinness has landed his own show from 11am-1pm from June.

Both stars released statements at the time of their appointment expressing their excitement at the opportunity, with McGuinness even branding the job a "dream".

However, after Wright's replacements were confirmed, the BBC found itself on the receiving end of some rather fierce complaints.

Several regular listeners vowed to "switch off" and boycott Radio 2 after giving McGuinness and Ball the coveted slots while others urged the corporation to "find fresh talent" rather than give the jobs to celebrities.

Ball didn't address the backlash directly on Wednesday morning but did appear on TV to acknowledge the pressure of the task at hand.

"It’s an appointment piece of radio, isn’t it?" Ball said. "It’s Sunday morning, you get up, you make your coffee and breakfast and start pottering around and you listen to Steve and to those incredible songs and heartwarming messages that would come through."

He went on: "I loved listening to [Wright's show]. I knew Steve very well, obviously, and loved his show, so to have this opportunity to carry on his legacy is quite scary and very heartwarming and I hope he'd be pleased."

BBC presenter Sally Nugent then touched upon the "challenges" and scrutiny Ball will face as he takes on a well-recognised and much-loved format, arguing he may not want to make many changes.

"The thing with Steve, he was constantly changing what he did within the parameters of knowing what the listener wanted," Ball replied. "He worked out very quickly that what the listener wanted on Sunday morning was those beautiful songs, that connection between him and them - him and the listener.

"Those stories and those instances - that mustn't change. I have a different style, of course, although I'm trying to copy him as much as I can, you copy from the masters."

Turning his attention to the listeners amid their disdain, Ball outlined his hopes as he pleaded: "I want people to tune in on a Sunday and go, 'Yeah, this isn't Steve but this is nice to listen to. This is a good way to start our Sunday'.

"And I hope I can find that style to do that. I'm nervous to do that and I'm going to work very hard to make that happen but I've been working in radio for a while now and there are things I would like to do.

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"I love interacting with the listener and chatting to them and getting to know people and getting to know their stories.

"So I hope there's a place to do that. But the key to it will always be, and always should be, the great music and the stories that accompany that."

Ball has been backed by his fans to succeed after taking over from Wright and it's a sentiment held by the Head of Radio 2, Helen Thomas too.

She said in a statement at the time of the appointments: "Although these are changes that we’d rather not be making, given the circumstances, I’m delighted to welcome Paddy and Michael to their new Sunday slots on Radio 2.

"I’m looking forward to Michael’s new earlier show, where he’ll entertain his ‘lovelies’ as he’s always done, and Paddy made a huge impression on our listeners when he sat in for Rylan as well as with his Easter specials.

"I’d also like to thank Nicki Chapman for presenting brilliant editions of Sunday Love Songs for the past few weeks."