BBC Jackanory and radio star Eugene Fraser dies as friends pay touching tributes

BBC radio legend and Jackanory star Eugene Fraser has died with heartfelt tributes pouring in for the star. The sad news was confirmed by fellow BBC Radio alum David Symonds in a post on social media. Posting a picture of the two of them, Symonds wrote: “The gentleman on the right slipped quietly through the holes of an STC 4038 yesterday afternoon to take his place in the cosmos. “Eugene Fraser was more than a friend to me; he was a brother. I have known him longer than I have known my own children. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! “His beautiful baritone voice was a godsend in the days when voice quality really mattered. “Somewhere there’s a recording of Eugene telling his technical operator a dirty joke during the pauses in the shipping forecast. “The presentation editor of Radio Four, Jim Black, called him a genius. I will miss Eugene like crazy, but I shall not grieve. “He wouldn’t want that. For Eugene Fraser’s was a life well lived.” Born in Fiji and educated in New Zealand, Eugene forged his early broadcasting career across southern hemisphere radio and television. He moved to Britain in 1967, joining the BBC as an announcer and newsreader across Radio 1 and Radio 2. Most read in Showbiz He swiftly became a familiar voice on the airwaves, leading popular broadcasts including Night Ride, Friday Night is Music Night, and Brass and Strings. A move south followed in 1975 to join Radio Victory in Portsmouth, before he was lured back to the BBC by August 1977 as a Radio 4 announcer. His work extended beyond national radio into television, where he lent his dulcet tones to the beloved children’s series Jackanory. He also enjoyed a brief stint presenting Singing Together, the long-running BBC Radio schools programme rooted in community singing traditions.