Torquay’s own William Honeyman takes on Radio 2 quiz with Vernon Kay

Torquay’s William “Wully” Honeyman took to the national airwaves on Tuesday morning (9 December) when he appeared on BBC Radio 2’s Ten to the Top with Vernon Kay.

The 57-year-old, known locally as Wully, spoke about his life in Torquay and his plans for a special trip to Orlando, Florida, to celebrate his wife Helen McGuire-Honeyman’s birthday.

Originally from Glasgow, William explained, “I came here in 1999 for a holiday and stayed forever.” He also gave listeners a glimpse of his sense of humour, calling himself the “Destroyer of Secrets” thanks to his job driving around and shredding secure documents.

William’s favourite band is the Rolling Stones. “Mick just keeps going, doesn’t he!” he said. “You always say, ‘I’ll go this time’ [to a concert] because you won’t see them again… and then you do.”

Vernon asked about the Orlando trip: “You’re excited to take your wife to Florida next year for her 60th, do the theme parks?” William replied, “Yes, she’ll be chuffed…you’ve just said that, absolutely chuffed that everyone knows she’ll be 60.”

Vernon tried again: “I’ll redo that…you’re excited to take your wife on holiday for a ‘special’ birthday.” Wully laughed: “Yeah. She’s 60.”

The quiz itself proved tricky. William struggled with questions on Noughties boybands, but had no problem identifying the Donny Osmond tune, Puppy Love. A Beatles memorabilia tie-breaker stumped him, however - he underestimated the largest collection at 8,500 items.

Despite scoring four points, William lost the tie-breaker to rival Jess, who won a smart speaker. Wully’s runner-up prize? A Radio 2 branded mug “Helen, enjoy your birthday present.”

Happy ‘special’ birthday, Helen, from all of us at the Torbay Weekly – and thanks to William for bringing a bit of Torquay spirit to BBC Radio 2!