Jenny Collins has died age 83
Jenny Collins, left, pictured with Liverpool Lord Mayor Cllr Doreen Jones on May 9, 1980(Image: LDP&E archive)
Tributes have flooded in following the death of a founding member of BBC Radio Merseyside. Jenny Collins was part of the team that launched BBC Radio Merseyside at exactly 12.30pm on November 22, 1967, dedicating many years to the station.
Jenny started her career as a young assistant on what was one of three regional stations set up by the BBC at the time, following a long campaign by veteran war reporter Frank Gillard and key supporters.
As the very first programme kicked off with Vic Marmion reporting from the excavations for the Wallasey Tunnel and Keith Macklin hosting from a party on board the Royal Daffodil, Jenny stood by at Commerce House, Sir Thomas Street, taking excited phone calls from the first ever listeners including 21-year-old Eva Tunnicliffe of Tintagel Road, Norris Green, who requested a Cliff Richard track.
Jenny went on to present and produce a programme for younger listeners called Junior Spin which featured a teenage Janice Long, who later joined the team as an assistant.
Playwright Alan Bleasdale got his first ever writing break on BBC Radio Merseyside along with a raft of aspiring poets and authors whose work was given a platform in the Write Now programme produced by Jenny for two decades.
While producing the station’s Jazz Panorama programme, Jenny met and married its presenter, Steve Voce, whose circle of friends included legends Johnny Dankworth and Cleo Laine, Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck and Digby Fairweather.
Jenny Collins and Donald Kerr presenting Kenny Dalglish with the BBC Radio Merseyside Sports Personality of the Year Award(Image: LDP&E archive)
BBC producer Estelle Condliffe paid tribute to her long time friend and colleague. She said: ”Jenny was a lovely, elegant, super professional lady who loved life at Radio Merseyside from those very earliest days before I joined.
“I remember her producing a whole weekend of Aintree racing programming from a tiny, two berth caravan parked next to the Radio Two catering wagon which was twice the size!”
Linda McDermott, former broadcaster at BBC, also said in a touching tribute: “In the hectic, unpredictable, creative, sometimes chaotic world of radio, Jenny was a calm, efficient, charming presence who loved capturing and reflecting the unique spirit of Liverpool, giving aspiring writers a chance on her delightful Write Now programme.
“In 1967 the Beatles had become global superstars, pop music was finally being heard on the airwaves but there was no blueprint for local radio and Jenny was one of the team of pioneers who led the way and gave the great city of Liverpool its voice. They set the bar high for those of us who came along later and stood on their considerable shoulders.”
Jenny’s husband Steve Voce, who was a well-respected jazz critic and broadcaster, died in 2023.
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