Stars to pay tribute to Sir Terry Wogan at Westminster Abbey service

Chris Evans, Joanna Lumley and Ken Bruce will be among the celebrities paying tribute to Sir Terry Wogan at a special event at Westminster Abbey today.

The much-loved broadcaster, known for his velvety voice on radio and television, died at the age of 77 on January 31 this year following a battle with cancer.

The event is a special Service of Thanksgiving for Sir Terry, whose career spanned more than four decades.

Sir Terry was known for his long-running BBC Radio 2 breakfast show, as well as Children In Need and his often blistering commentary on the Eurovision Song Contest.

Evans, who took over the Radio 2 breakfast show from Sir Terry after the broadcaster decided to leave after 27 years despite an outcry from his millions of listeners, will give a tribute at the service, which marks the 50th anniversary of his first radio broadcast for the BBC.

Fellow Radio 2 broadcaster Bruce will read WB Yeats' The Song Of Wandering Aengus at the special service.

Lumley will read a new poem commissioned especially for the service, which will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall.

Limerick-born Sir Terry, dubbed a "national treasure", was last on air on BBC Radio 2 on November 8, last year.

Days later, he was forced to pull out of presenting Children In Need at the last minute owing to health issues.

It was later announced that he had died, with a family statement saying: "Sir Terry Wogan died after a short but brave battle with cancer. He passed away surrounded by his family."