diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/widgets.py b/lib/matplotlib/widgets.py
index 8c22bc899537..6675903b6877 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/widgets.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/widgets.py
@@ -627,6 +627,9 @@ class RadioButtons(AxesWidget):
 
      *circles*
         A list of :class:`matplotlib.patches.Circle` instances
+        
+     *value_selected*
+        A string listing the current value selected
 
     Connect to the RadioButtons with the :meth:`on_clicked` method
     """
@@ -644,8 +647,8 @@ def __init__(self, ax, labels, active=0, activecolor='blue'):
             The color of the button when clicked
         """
         AxesWidget.__init__(self, ax)
-
         self.activecolor = activecolor
+        self.value_selected = None
 
         ax.set_xticks([])
         ax.set_yticks([])
@@ -663,6 +666,7 @@ def __init__(self, ax, labels, active=0, activecolor='blue'):
                         verticalalignment='center')
 
             if cnt == active:
+                self.value_selected = label
                 facecolor = activecolor
             else:
                 facecolor = axcolor
@@ -698,6 +702,7 @@ def inside(p):
             if t.get_window_extent().contains(event.x, event.y) or inside(p):
                 inp = p
                 thist = t
+                self.value_selected = t.get_text()
                 break
         else:
             return