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I don't get a call any more asking me if I'd like to accompany the First Lady of British Theatre to New York for three days to cover the Tony Awards for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2.

It's now the third year of us going and, instead, I just get an email early in the year reminding me that it's about time I started looking at logistics.

Like I'd forget! The planning starts in February, and then early June comes around before we know it, and we're off to what Lin Manuel-Miranda calls 'the greatest city in the world' in the lyrics to last year's 11-time Tony Award-winning musical, Hamilton.

I'm sure Elaine would join me in saying that we love this trip. It's the highlight of our working year. A fantastic opportunity for us to make a unique programme which marries Elaine's expertise and popularity in the Broadway community with a host of exciting new show tunes from the Great White Way. And some great star interviews too.

As the producer of Elaine Paige On Sunday, I make sure that Elaine is talking about current Broadway shows all year long. Then in May, when the Tony nominations are announced, we sit down and choose the three productions we want to see on our annual visit. And so a year's worth of build-up gets realised in our special two hour highlights show when Elaine reveals to her audience just what she thinks of this season on Broadway.

This year has delivered a diverse and exciting crop of new musicals. We chose to go and see the uplifting Come From Away, the beautifully emotive Dear Evan Hansen, and the juggernaut that is the Hello Dolly! revival, which stars Elaine's friend Bette Midler. We both really enjoyed all three, although Hello Dolly! is truly in a league of its own.

I was incredibly fortunate after seeing Hello Dolly! to join Elaine as she spent some time with Bette Midler backstage at the Shubert Theater. For such a global star it was a distinctly average dressing room, guarded by a minder called Jose -  a detective for the NYPD by day.

After a short wait and a glass of pink champagne, Ms Midler sashayed in looking a million dollars after her seventh tour de force performance of the week in a career-capping turn as the show's central character- the meddlesome matchmaker Dolly Levi.

"This is my radio producer, Jess," Elaine said politely. "Jeff?" Ms Midler turned to me and replied "Your name is Jeff?"

“No - J... Oh, never mind. You can call me what you like!”

They immediately got talking. What a huge privilege it was for me to be there as the only other person in the room for what was a truly priceless conversation between two legends. They covered politics, theatre, singing technique, and a lot more besides. As we left, Elaine laid it on the line - "Bette, I'm backstage at the awards on Sunday night - I know you're not giving interviews but I insist you come and speak to me; just a few words is all I need, for my radio show..."

And Bette said she would.

Sunday came and, backstage at the 71st Tony Awards, Elaine spoke to the likes of Gavin Creel the 'Best Featured Actor in a Musical', Christopher Ashley the 'Best Director of a Musical' and Cynthia Nixon the 'Best Featured Actress in a Play'. Business was brisk, but at the end of the evening things took a wonderfully exciting turn when, out of nowhere, we got a message saying that Bette Midler - now the newly crowned 'Best Leading Actress in a Musical' - had requested to speak to Elaine downstairs...

So off we shot, past a throng the length of a Glastonbury loo queue, to a…. stairwell.

Surely we aren't interviewing Bette Midler in a stairwell?!

Yes we are - and gather yourselves because she's on her way. No, actually - BANG - she's right here - go!

Bette was bouncing off the walls, Tony in hand. Moments earlier she’d hollered on stage - in front of a TV audience of 6.1 million - "Shut that crap off!" as the music had begun to play her off as she was delivering her acceptance speech. She was screeching with excitement at Elaine, who was equally over the moon. My brilliant colleague Paul Mann (assistant producer on Steve Wright in the Afternoon) had the unenviable task of capturing the whole thing on our portable recorder. And there I am; nervous, shattered, exhilarated Jeff from Dover, running up and down the staircase on tiptoes trying to stop the silver service waiting staff from noisily clattering their trays of canapés all over my prize interview.

Not an episode I'll forget in a long while.

Other highlights of our trip included meeting 91-year-old stage and screen legend Dame Angela Lansbury in the foyer of the Music Box Theater where, like us, she was patiently waiting in line to see the same performance of Dear Evan Hansen.

Plus, during our interview with Pasek & Paul - Dear Evan Hansen’s Tony-winning composers who also won an Oscar for La La Land - another lovely moment was the thrill on Benj Pasek's face when Elaine gave him a virtuoso rendition of 'Happy Birthday' when Justin Paul told her that Benj was 32 years old that day.

Then there was the honour of attending the Tony’s dress rehearsal at the Radio City Music Hall where we had a sneak preview of all the action, saw the ceremony host Kevin Spacey running through his big opening number, and watched the stars off-guard.

You can hear 'The Tony Awards with Elaine Paige' on Friday night from 8pm, or on Sunday afternoon from 1pm. It features interviews with Tim Minchin - composer of Groundhog Day The Musical, Jerry Zaks - director of Hello Dolly!, and of course THAT whirlwind conversation with the star of the show, Bette Midler.

And P.S. Elaine, if you're reading this, thank you for everything - you make working at Radio 2 amazing. Here's to next year. Love, Jeff xx

• to Elaine Paige's highlights from the 2017 Tony Awards on Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2 from 8pm on Friday 16 June 2017