The BBC has apologised for what it has described as a “production error” during an on-air tribute to the musician George Fenton.
On Monday night, a Radio 2 news segment ended with a report on George’s death, which then led into a musical tribute.
Unfortunately, rather than playing one of the late composer’s works, they instead played Nature Boy, as performed by the similarly-named singer-songwriter George Benson.
“This was a production error, for which we apologise,” a spokesperson for the station told Radio Today.
Among those to pick up on the blunder was the composer David Arnold, who wrote on the social media site Bluesky: “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 Fenton was a “genius composer” who “deserved better than that from the company he gave voice to”.
In life, George Fenton was best known for his musical contributions to the world of film and TV, for which he had three Baftas, two Emmys, a Classical Brit Award, five Oscar nominations and two Grammy nods to his name.
His work for the BBC included composing music for the Sir David Attenborough documentaries Planet Earth, The Blue Planet and Wild Isles, as well as working on the scores for movies including Dangerous Liaisons, Groundhog Day and numerous Ken Loach films.
In 2023, he was awarded a CBE for his services to music.
George died suddenly on Monday, at the age of 76. “We are sad to announce that George Fenton passed away unexpectedly today,” his representative said.
“He is survived by his loving wife Amanda, ex-wife Jane, children Gemma, Grace and Bridget, and grandchildren Lola, Audrey, Alfred, George, Frank, Beatrice, and a life of music.”
