Stephen Clements: Family decide on private funeral with public event to follow

Q Radio news

The family of the late radio broadcaster Stephen Clements say a funeral service planned for next week will now take place in private. 

The father of two died suddenly on Tuesday at the age of 47.

A service was announced to take place at Roselawn cemetery in Belfast on Tuesday, January 14th. 

Details of that have now changed however, with members of the public being asked to give the family privacy, partially due to concerns over the size of the venue. 

Thousands of people have been paying tribute to the former QRadio breakfast presenter, and it's understood crowd control may have been an issue. 

Well known faces from the worlds of music, the arts, broadcasting and politics had indicated they may have attended a public event, alongside hundreds of fans wishing to pay their respects.

The Clement's family have told QRadio news they have been overwhelmed by the support, and are still in a state of shock over the sudden death.

They plan to hold a public event at a later date, where fans of the talented broadcaster can attend.

Having turned Q Radio's breakfast show into one of the most popular programmes in the region, Clements landed what he described as his "dream" job at the BBC last year.

He worked as a presenter for BBC NI's coverage of the Open golf championship at Royal Portrush in July, and in September became the new host of Radio Ulster's mid-morning show.

His brother Gavin described him as his "inspiration and hero".