1504: Final Eddie Mair PM on Radio 4
On Wednesday 8th August 2019, Eddie Mair hosted his last PM programme on Radio 4. Although the programme had existed since April 1970, Eddie was to make it his own. His immaculate teasing, his deadpan humour and a cleverness - sometimes even too clever for many of his listeners - made the programme shine. Plus, of course, an interviewing style unmatched by anyone. Calm, targeted, persuasive and \u2013 if you\u2019re on the wrong end \u2013 devastating.
\n\n\nHis last programme made no mention of his departure, although his imminent end had been well publicised. Unlike most programmes, he did not talk up to Big Ben \u2013 he let \u2018Bring me Sunshine\u2019 so the job for him. Regular listeners would have mused of the significance of the change. It was such subtle nods that lent the programme an unspoken intimacy which similar programmes so often lack.
\n\n\nLBC beckoned \u2013 and only the most alert would have spotted his early preparations for his transfer to commercial radio as he uttered \u201c\u2026after these messages\u201d into a trailer.