Robbie Shepherd, who hosted Take the Floor on BBC Radio Scotland for 35 years, has passed away. The 87-year-old champion of the Doric dialect of north-east Scotland was born in Dunecht, Aberdeenshire.
He was a regular commentator for the Braemar Gathering, a Highland Games attended by the late Queen and other members of the Royal Family.
Since the early 1980s, Mr. Shepherd has hosted Take the Floor. When he retired from the Scottish dance music program in 2016, then-prime minister Nicola Sturgeon was among those who paid tribute, calling him a broadcasting institution.
On Saturday evenings, thousands of listeners tune in to Take the Floor.
Gary Innes, who took over Mr. Shepherd’s program after his retirement and became close friends with the broadcaster, said, “The man was an institution.
“After 35 years, he departed with such dignity and grace. I told him, “Robbie, I have no earthly idea how I will ever fill your shoes.”
“And he just said with a beautiful Doric accent, ‘Ach Gary, ye know I’m only a size five, you’ll be fine,'” the sentence continues.
Director of BBC Scotland Steve Carson stated that Mr. Shepherd’s Take the Floor program has been a staple of Scottish culture for decades.
He added,
“Everyone at BBC Scotland is devastated by the news of his departure.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends in Aberdeen, as well as the larger family of radio listeners around the world who adored his Doric voice and his enthusiasm and passion for the music he cherished so deeply.”
Mr. Shepherd described how, when he first entered broadcasting, he was criticized for his dialect in some quarters and derided as a “rough and ready country idiot.”
Explaining his broadcasting philosophy in 2016, he stated, “I like to imagine that I am broadcasting to a woman in a Glasgow tenement while conversing with a woman in a croft.”
Mr. Shepherd’s achievement was recognized with an MBE, and he was inducted into the Trad Music Awards Hall of Fame.
His career included appearances on BBC Scotland’s Beechgrove Garden and the presentation of sheepdog trials on television.
Mr. Shepherd was a regular commentator on the Highland Games circuit, including Oldmeldrum Sports and Highland Games, in addition to his work in broadcasting.
He wrote works on Scottish dance music and Scottish country dancing, as well as a column in Doric for a newspaper.
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