Johnnie Walker, a fixture of BBC radio, has died aged 79 after a long health battle.
The iconic radio DJ was the host of Sounds Of The 70s show on BBC Radio 2 before hanging up his headset in October after a 58-year-long career in radio.
The star cited ill health as the reason for his retirement, having previously been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which causes scarring in the lungs and makes it hard to breathe, according to Lung Foundation Australia.
READ MORE: King Frederik X reflects on first year as monarch with Queen Mary in his first New Year address
Tributes have flooded in for the DJ, including from his wife Tiggy Walker.
She told the BBC that she “couldn’t be more proud” of her husband and “how he kept broadcasting almost to the end, and with what dignity and grace he coped with his debilitating lung disease”.
“He remained his charming, humorous self to the end, what a strong, amazing man. It has been a rollercoaster ride from start to finish,” she said.
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
All the celebrities who have died in 2024
“And if I may say – what a day to go,” she said, noting that it was December 31 in the UK at the time of his passing.
“He’ll be celebrating New Year’s Eve with a stash of great musicians in heaven. One year on from his last live show. God bless that extraordinary husband of mine who is now in a place of peace.”
Traffic presenter Sally Boazman, who worked with Walker from 1999 to 2006 on Radio 2’s drivetime show praised him for being “such a great broadcaster”.
READ MORE: Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales share message celebrating the new year
She said Walker was, “really great in the way that he presented, he had a great voice, he knew his music inside out, he was the real deal.
“It was very sad to see the way he lost his voice towards the end, but he still had that enthusiasm and that love of the music.”
The radio host was born in Birmingham and left school at the age of 15 to become a mechanic, later becoming a car salesman.
READ MORE: What 2025 has in store for your star sign, according to an astrologist
But he found his passion for music with a Friday night disco DJ slot and later began his radio career in 1966 on Swinging Radio England, an offshore pirate station.
Walker then went on to Radio Caroline where he became a household name, then moving on to BBC Radio 1 from 1969 to 1976, Radio Luxembourg, Radio 1’s Saturday Stereo Sequence and various BBC stations before being offered his own weekly show on Radio 2 taking over Drivetime.
All the celebrities who have died in 2024
The radio star was renowned for placing more importance on the music than the conversation holding the show together, having contributed to the careers of the likes of Lou Reed, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles.
This was not the first health battle he suffered, with Walker undergoing chemotherapy and an emergency operation for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2003.
After his surgery, he revealed to his listeners that he had “died” on the operating table three times as doctors repaired his burst intestine.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
#Johnnie #Walker #death #Iconic #radio #aged #wife #pays #tribute
