Who was 'Old Woman' developed by Steve Wright? BBC Radio host faced pressure to drop character over stereotyping, Jeremy Vine reveals

The depiction of an older woman by Steve Wright has been a staple of his show for years on BBC Afternoon. The legendary DJ, Steve, unexpectedly passed away on February 13, 2024, confirmed by his family, as seen in The Sun.

On February 13, 2024, on his X, Jeremy Vine, paying tribute to Steve, revealed the "Old Woman" was an actual old woman-inspired role. However, Steve was pressured to drop the character because it was "stereotyping," typecasting a specific age bracket and gender. But then the real old woman, Joyce Frost, came forward and said that "she'd be despondent if he stopped pretending to be her."

Joyce Frost, the lady behind the character "Old Woman," was from Dagenham, east London. She was a master of knitting and bingo, as seen on BBC. However, as per the publication, she was part of the long-running show until Wednesday, November 9, 2016, when she died peacefully at her home.

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The identity behind Steve Wright's "Old Woman": The character faced scrutiny amidst stereotyping

The Radio DJ Steve Wright, who had hosted shows on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 for four decades, died at 69. He was known for his creative thinking and developing staple characters like "Mr. Angry" and "Old Woman," and attracted 7.2 million listeners, as seen on Radio Rewind.

The artist behind the "Old Woman," Steve, passed away at 69 (Image via X/@paul_coia)

Old Woman by Steve was once under pressure to be dropped from BBC Radio 2 Afternoon show amid "stereotyping," however, the real identity, Joyce Frost, came forward and asked not to stop it, as revealed by Jeremy Vine, an English television and radio presenter on BBC Radio 2 on X. He wrote,

"Classic Steve Wright memory: his 'old woman' was an actual old woman who I used to see in the R2 lift. Steve came under pressure to drop his O.W. character because of 'stereotyping' — she stepped in and said she'd be devastated if she lost her role on his show #RIPSteveWright."

Frost previously had a slot in Steve's "factoids" segment, where they discussed what was happening worldwide.

Many listeners loved the depicted character of the older woman inspired by Joyce and was the most enjoyable character along with Barry from Watford and the popular Ask Elvis segment, as per The Express.

Joyce died peacefully on Wednesday, November 9, 2016, as per the BBC. Steve Wright then paid tribute to Joyce in 2016, as seen in The Express. He penned,

"She was a complete natural on the air and very opinionated and witty. She was always cheeky, she was always funny, she was always charming. It's a sad loss, thank you for being the Old Woman with us Joyce and we'll miss you very much."

Steve added that she had never done the Radio before but was unbelievably professional. He also said Friday Night Is Music Night, a long-running BBC concert, was her favorite radio station.