Terminally ill BBC DJ Johnnie Walker to retire

[dutchman]

Radio veteran, 79, says his condition means he cannot keep up professional standards



Johnnie Walker, the BBC Radio 2 DJ, has announced his retirement from radio, saying his terminal illness meant he could not maintain “professional standards”.

Walker, 79, told listeners to his Sounds Of The 70s programme on Sunday that he would be giving up work later this month because of his pulmonary fibrosis.

The veteran presenter said he was finding it “more and more difficult” to maintain “a professional standard suitable for Radio 2”.

In June, he revealed that his condition, which causes the lungs to become scarred and makes breathing increasingly difficult, was terminal.

He said doctors had told him he should “prepare to die at any moment” as it was getting “progressively worse”.

He added that he would “probably die a lot sooner” without his radio shows, which he presents from home.

Walker, who also hosts The Rock Show on the station, told listeners on Sunday that he had a “very sad announcement” to make.

“The struggles I’ve had with doing the show and trying to sort of keep up a professional standard suitable for Radio 2 has been getting more and more difficult, hence my little jokes about Puffing Billy,” he said.

“So I’ve had to make the decision that I need to bring my career to an end after 58 years.

“And so I’ll be doing my last Sounds Of The 70s on Oct 27, so I’ll make the last three shows as good as I possibly can.”

The Birmingham-born presenter will be succeeded as host of the programme by Bob Harris, the former presenter of BBC 2’s Old Grey Whistle Test, from Nov 3.

Harris, 78, who also presents The Country Show on Radio 2, said: “I am proud and honoured to be taking over a BBC Radio 2 institution from a true broadcasting great.

“Johnnie and I have been friends since my years presenting Old Grey Whistle Test and the original Sounds Of The 70s, and I will do everything I can to maintain his legacy and curate the programme with the very best music from that incredible decade.”

The Rock Show’s new presenter will be Shaun Keaveny, 52, the former breakfast show presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music, who is taking over on Nov 1.

Walker began his radio career in 1966 on Swinging Radio England, an offshore pirate station, before moving to Radio Caroline, becoming a household name by hosting its night-time show.

When the station closed, he joined BBC Radio 1 in 1969, continuing until 1976, when he moved to San Francisco to record a weekly show which was broadcast on Radio Luxembourg.

He returned to the BBC in the early 1980s.