The presenter started working working at the BBC radio station in 1967 was described by former colleagues as ‘one of the best people in broadcasting’ following her death
A BBC radio pioneer has died and tributes have flooded in from her former colleagues and friends. Liverpool-born Jenny Collins, who has died aged 83, was one of the founding members of the Merseyside radio service, which was set up in 1967 and was only the third local BBC radio station.
She began her lengthy career as a reporter and on-air presenter, taking calls from listeners and hosting Junior Spin, before moving into senior editorial roles such as programme controller, according to the BBC. Following her death, which was announced on January 2, her former colleague Roy Corlett said she had helped “build something that is still here, still going strong nearly 60 years on”.
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Another former colleague and former Radio Merseyside presenter, Roger Lyon, published a moving tribute on Facebook, describing her as “a genuinely lovely person” with “a great broadcasting voice”.
“Very sad to hear today of the passing of one of the founding members of Radio Merseyside, the lovely Jenny Collins,” he wrote. “She was there at the start in 1967 and performed many duties both in front of and behind the mike.
“I still have letters that we swapped in the mid 90s when I was living and working in Oz, and she was acting Programme Controller, planning what shows I could do on RM when I returned.
“The last time I saw her was about 4 years ago when she was my guest on RM chatting about her career working there. She was married to Steve Voce who for many years presented a jazz programme called Jazz Panorama. She had a great broadcasting voice and was a genuinely lovely person. R I P.”
His heartfelt post was quickly flooded with similar sentiments, including one who described her as “one of the best people I ever met in broadcasting”. The former head of BBC Radio Merseyside, Mick Ord, also commented: “RIP Jenny. A wonderful, warm-spirited woman who played an integral role at Radio Merseyside for many years.”
Jenny’s late husband Steve Voce, who died in November 2023, was also a member of the BBC Radio Merseyside alumni, and worked at BBC Radio 2 and as a music reviewer. His obituary in the Jazz Journal referenced his “lively, witty and often acerbic style” of reviews, which were “much appreciated by many JJ readers”.
Editor Mark Gilbert wrote: “When I asked him for a biography for our contributors page, I got simply ‘In the first half of his life Steve Voce was preoccupied with listening to jazz, boozing and adultery. In the second half of his life he gave up adultery.’ There was a lot more to the life and work for jazz than that. It probably isn’t excessive to suggest he lived for the music.”
Source: Mirror
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