Popular North East radio host Chris Donald has stepped down from his current presenting role, hopefully temporarily, due to a period of ill health.
Chris Donald’s Imaginary Soul Club initially aired on BBC Radio Newcastle and Tees until 2020, and later moved to community radio station Nova Radio North East.
The station has now revealed that Donald has stepped down, with Steven Tulip taking over the reins for the time being having already covered the show for some time.
In a statement on social media, a spokesperson for the station said that, although the station “hopes” Donald will be able to resume hosting duties in the near future, his stand-in would now be taking the reins for the foreseeable future:
“UPDATE: Good evening all
“A little update to let you all know what’s happening in regards to Chris Donald.
“As you are all aware Chis has not hosted the imaginary soul club for a number of months, this is due to Chris being unwell.
“Sadly at the moment Chris does not feel like he’s in a position to resume doing his show, which we hope he is well enough to resume in the near future.
“In the meantime Steven Tulip – who has been doing the show for a number of months in Chris’s will take over the reins with the best wishes from Chris, which means he will be putting his own stamp on the show with a possible name change and chane of day the show will air too.
Please keep an eye on the page for further updates, support Steve and let’s all wish Chris well.”
In the meantime, the soul show continues to air every Friday night 10pm-midnight on Nova Radio North East, playing the very best in soul. Tulip seems likely to be keeping listeners fairly happy in his predecessor’s absence, with a playlist that at the weekend included classics from the likes of Herbie Hancock, Barry White, Edwin Starr, Stevie Wonder and Tyrone Davis.
Nova Radio also launched its own app in January, available on Google Play and the App Store, so listeners can tune in wherever they are.
