I have a couple of issues with this news - which is nothing to do with the fact that I absolutely loathed Terry Wogan.
Point one - he was an entertainer - albeit a much loved one - he played records and talked, and was more than handsomely paid for it. He hasn't discovered a cure for cancer, he was an entertainer.
So, on that basis, are we going to clear space in the diary for when Michael Macintyre pegs it? He is the most popular comedian in the country. Or Chris Evans, whose listening figures vaporised Sir Terry’s and remain far higher than the ‘genial Irishman’ ever achieved.
People will talk about his Children In Need work – but let’s not forget, for over a decade, he was the only person on the entire production paid a fee for his time, everyone else did it for free. When he was exposed, he laughed that he ‘ … didn’t even know he received a fee, and would gladly do it for nothing …’
That indicates a man who has far too much money, that he doesn’t notice the odd nine grand (!) dropping into his account, and remember he was getting that far too much money from the licence payer. There was never any mention of him donating the ninety-plus back to CIN either, which he shamelessly trousered why production staff paid a fraction of his money worked every year for nothing.
So – apart from the fact that old twinkly-eyes was making eight figures from a publicly funded organisation, and ripping off a charity for years, we are still expected to see him as some sort of saint who deserves a ‘tribute’ in this holy place.
Like I said, he was an entertainer, not a deity, just a popular voice on the radio. So in the interests of appropriate perspective, I suggest the Songs Of Praise special he has had from his employers is quite sufficient, and he should do what all other entertainers who when they croak – be remembered fondly, and then consigned to history where they belong.
This is a step too far and offers a precedent for other ‘entertainers’ to be similarly honoured, and that demeans and dilutes the concept of a church ceremony for everyone.