Sheffield Live’s own presenter, Ben Keegan, proposed to his partner, Tracey Rogers, during his live radio show: Deserted Ireland Discs.

As Tracey discussed the final track of the show, Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, reminiscing about a recent road trip on the way back from France, Ben asked her one more question before the song started playing. He got down on one knee and asked “Tracey, would you do me the honour of marrying me?” whilst presenting an engagement ring.

Initially, Tracey responded with laughter and asked if he “was tying his shoelaces again”. When speaking to the couple after this event, Tracey told us that Ben had previously got down on one knee on a trip to Venice, and then proceeded to tie his shoelaces.

When Tracey realised Ben was genuinely proposing to her, she went silent for around four seconds, which she told us was “a long time to be quiet for me”. Her answer to the big question was “Yes. There was no question that I would not say yes.”

Reflecting on the lead up to the proposal, Ben said “We’ve been together for twelve years in September and I love her very much… Once I decided to ask her, I thought, how should I ask her?”

“I realised I had the perfect platform with my radio show. I’ve been asking Tracey to come on this show for a while now, so I knew she wouldn’t suspect a thing.”

On Deserted Ireland Disks, a guest is invited each week to discuss their life and play songs related to specific moments and memories. Ben used this platform to create a new core memory for himself and Tracey on Sheffield Live!