Radio Legend Jenny Collins Has Died

Beloved BBC radio personality Jenny Collins has died at the age of 83.

The Radio Merseyside presenter and station pioneer’s death was announced on Jan. 2, with BBC Radio Merseyside broadcaster Roger Lyon confirming the news on Facebook. Details surrounding Collins’ passing were not made immediately available.

Collins was on the original team of BBC Radio Merseyside when the station launched in 1967, beginning her broadcast career as a reporter and presenter before moving into senior editorial roles.

“Very sad to hear today of the passing of one of the founding members of Radio Merseyside, the lovely Jenny Collins,” Lyon wrote on Facebook.

“She was there at the start in 1967 and performed many duties both in front of and behind the mike,” he continued. “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,” he went on. “She was married to Steve Voce, who for many years presented a Jazz Programme called Jazz Panorama.”

Lyon concluded, “She had a great broadcasting voice and was a genuinely lovely person. RIP.”

Other of Collins’ former colleagues paid tribute to her, with Roy Corlett telling the BBC she had helped “to build something that is still here, still going strong nearly 60 years on.” He continued, “She was a very caring and understanding person and I think people identified with that.”

Former head of BBC Radio Merseyside Mick Ord went on to describe Collins as “a wonderful, warm-spirited woman who played an integral role at Radio Merseyside for many years,” with former sports editor Charlie Lambert saying she was “one of the best people I ever met in broadcasting and a really positive influence when I was at Radio Merseyside.”

Collins was married to her fellow BBC broadcaster, Steve Voce, until his death in 2023.