Steve Wright's cause of death revealed: BBC Radio DJ, 69, passed away suddenly at his £2m London flat from a ruptured ulcer in his stomach and 'acute' peritonitis, death certificate shows
BBC Radio 2 DJ Steve Wright died aged 69 from a ruptured ulcer in his stomach, his death certificate has now confirmed.
The veteran radio broadcaster, one of the most familiar voices on the airwaves in the UK, died suddenly at his £2million home in London on February 12.
Wright's death certificate has now been revealed by BBC News, which said it stated that his causes of death were acute peritonitis and a perforated gastric peptic ulcer.
Peritonitis is an infection of the lining of the stomach, according to the NHS. A perforated ulcer is a rarer complication when the lining of the stomach splits open.
A relative registered his death at Westminster Register Office last Wednesday, after the coroner's court confirmed on May 20 that no inquest would be held.
BBC Radio 2 DJ Steve Wright (pictured in May 2015) died from a ruptured ulcer in his stomach
Wright, who died in February at the age of 69, is pictured in his recording studio in 1994
Wright (pictured in 1999) hosted Steve Wright's Saturday Show and Sunday Love Songs
The Metropolitan Police previously said that Wright's death in the Marylebone area of Central London 'was unexpected, but is not being treated as suspicious'.
Wright last appeared on air on February 11, one day before his death, hosting a pre-recorded special Valentine's Day edition of his Love Songs programme on Radio 2.
The broadcaster joined BBC Radio 1 in 1980 to host a Saturday evening show before moving on to host Steve Wright In The Afternoon a year later until 1993.
Wright then fronted the Radio 1 Breakfast show for a year until 1995, and completed a stint at commercial radio stations.
He then returned to BBC Radio 2 in 1996 to host Steve Wright's Saturday Show and Sunday Love Songs.
In 1999, he recreated Steve Wright In The Afternoon every weekday on Radio 2, with celebrity interviews and entertaining trivia featured in his Factoids segment.
Wright stepped down in September 2022, replaced by Scott Mills in a schedule shake-up, but Wright continued to present Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2.
Last month, Michael Ball took over as the host of a new Sunday love songs show, which was retitled Love Songs With Michael Ball.
Wright was made an MBE in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to radio.
At the time of his death, Wright was hailed by former BBC radio colleagues Paul Gambaccini and Noel Edmonds as 'one of the greatest exponents of the art of radio'.
The radio DJ was a fixture on BBC Radio 1 and then Radio 2 for more than four decades, attracting millions of listeners.
His former colleagues and friends were among those to remember him for his dedication to radio and as a 'lovely kind man'.
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, Gambaccini recalled how Wright would come into the studio hours before his show to ensure he was prepared.
'He knew what he was going to do (and) when and that's when the greats like Noel (Edmonds) and Chris Evans shone. They made it sound like it was off the cuff, but it was really well planned.
'And Steve stayed afterwards, this was his life. He gave us his life for 44 years, five days a week and then six with Love Songs.'
Gambaccini also revealed the news was a shock to him as he last spoke to Wright two days before his death - and had sent him two emails the day after his death, not realising his friend had died.
Wright took over Gambaccini's long-running BBC Radio 2 show Pick Of The Pops last year.
Edmonds, who worked across BBC radio during his career, also described Wright as a 'brilliant communicator'.
He told This Morning: 'We have lost one of the greatest exponents of the art of radio. And radio, if done well, is an art form.
Wright first joined Radio 1 in 1980 to host a Saturday evening show. He is pictured that year
Wright married Cyndi Robinson but they divorced in 1999. They are pictured at their wedding
'And I know Steve has been described as a DJ, for me he wasn't a DJ, he's been described as a broadcaster, I actually don't like the term broadcasting because that rather suggests that you are shoving content out there, spray and pray and it might hit a listener or a viewer.
'That wasn't Steve's style. Steve was… a brilliant communicator, and the thing about being a communicator is, you are born with it. You can't fake it.
'The microphone or the camera will find you if you are trying to be something you're not and I think the reason why so many people are genuinely distressed by this premature departure is that Steve was a friend because he could communicate.'
