VETERAN broadcaster Ray Clark will be joining Basildon and district community radio station Gateway 97.8 for a special show to mark the new year.

Ray has featured on a number of radio stations over the tears, including Radio Caroline and BBC stations. 

He says: "Gateway asked me if I'd record a show for the Christmas period about 'pirate radio' ... well, I had a thought and remembered Radio City's 'Basildon Request Show.

"I had a search around and Chris Dannatt at piratememories.com had a reasonable quality recording of an original episode presented by Chris Cross. 

"Anyway, 60 years later the original, but re-vamped and spruced up show will be broadcast once again to Basildon.

"It'll be fun if any of the many requests from the time will be heard by surviving family members ... or perhaps even the person that sent the original letter to Radio City all those years ago"

The show is due for broadcast at 1pm on Friday, 2 January.