A Park Radio presenter, who is set to hang up his headphones on his 70th birthday, is hoping for one last star interview before he steps aside – with Ed Sheeran.
Mid Morning Show host Paul Stephen, who lives in Harleston with his wife, Trish, will be leaving the station on May 2.
Having recently interviewed the likes of Paul Young, Shakatak, the Three Degrees, actor Stephen Berkoff, drummer Mel Gaynor from Simple Minds and Chris Amoo from The Real Thing, the presenter has not given up hope of holding a once-in-a-lifetime chat with the Framlingham superstar.
He said: “In truth, it started as a bit of a joke on air, but he does live down the road and is known for just showing up in places, so who knows?
“I have used social media to try to contact him and have said it many times on the radio – maybe he has heard me.”
Mr Stephen’s DJ career started in the Middle East in the 1970s, when he became the first English broadcaster on Radio Oman, before moving on to present Radio Bahrain.
Away from the air waves, he has enjoyed a varied working life, having spells at an international mobile disco company and as Middle East marketing manager for American Express.
Closer to home, he was manager of Barclays in Lowestoft and has owned two pubs – The Black Horse Inn in Thorndon and the Parrot and Punchbowl in Aldringham, near Thorpeness.
“Most of our other presenters, like Jono Abel and Nigel Rennie, have spent their entire careers in radio,” he told the Diss Express.
“I went off to make my fortune in other fields. In truth, maybe I should have stayed in radio, because I have won ... and lost.”
After three years presenting Drive Time for Radio Broadland, the father-of-three made the move to Park Radio, which broadcasts in Diss, Harleston and Eye, in 2010, when it was doing test transmissions from the basement of Candies shoe shop.
He said: “I have absolutely loved my time on radio and I am very grateful to Park Radio and our listeners for putting up with me.
“Have I made a success of it? I feel I have and I also feel we have some of the best presenters, who I have great respect for.
“Even though I am hanging up the headphones, I will still be in the background, continuing guest researching with Katie Brame.”
