BBC Radio 2 apologises over George Benson tribute

BBC Radio 2 has apologised after mistakenly paying tribute to George Benson following a news report announcing the death of composer George Fenton.

The error happened after the 11pm news on Monday during The Good Groove, in which Melvin Odoom was sitting in for DJ Spoony, when the presenter introduced George Benson’s version of Nature Boy as a tribute.

BBC Radio 2 told RadioToday.co.uk: “This was a production error, for which we apologise.”

The mistake was also noticed by composer David Arnold, who criticised the station in a social media post.

He wrote: “Radio 2 announced the passing of George Fenton on the 11pm news tonight, immediately followed by the presenter playing ‘Nature Boy’ by George Benson in tribute to ‘George Benson’.”

David added that George was “such a great person as well as a genius composer” and said he “deserved better than that from the company he gave voice to musically on so many brilliant occasions”.

George Fenton’s work for the BBC included music for television and radio, including the former theme to Radio 4’s PM programme.

And of course, it’s on Radiofail.