The BBC radio presenter Johnnie Walker has introduced he is hanging up his headphones after a 58-year profession due to ailing well being.
He’ll step down from presenting Sounds of the 70s and The Rock Present on BBC Radio 2 on the finish of this month.
The 79-year-old made the announcement stay on air on Sunday, telling listeners that he would make his last exhibits “pretty much as good as I presumably can”.
He shall be changed on Sounds of the 70s by Bob Harris, whereas Shaun Keaveny would be the new presenter of The Rock Present.
Walker has pulmonary fibrosis, which is scarring of the lungs. The situation makes respiratory troublesome.
Throughout his present on Sunday, he learn out a letter from a listener whose dad had liked the present, however had handed away in 2022 as a result of pulmonary fibrosis.
“Now, that leads me to be making a really unhappy announcement,” he stated.
“The struggles I’ve had with doing the present and attempting to type of sustain knowledgeable normal appropriate for Radio 2 has been getting increasingly troublesome, therefore my little jokes about Puffing Billy, so I’ve needed to make the choice that I must carry my profession to an finish.”
Walker started his radio profession in 1966 on Swinging Radio England, an offshore pirate station, earlier than shifting to Radio Caroline.
He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1969, and joined Radio 2 in 1997 the place he has remained ever since.
Amongst these paying tribute to him was Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, who known as him a “broadcasting legend”.
“Everybody at Radio 2, and I’m certain his tens of millions of listeners, want to thank Johnnie for entertaining us for therefore many a long time along with his brilliantly crafted exhibits.” she stated.
“He shall be a lot missed on the airwaves and by his listeners, who’ve adored listening to his exhibits over time.”
Harris, who will proceed to host Radio 2’s The Nation Present, stated he was “proud and honoured” to be taking up the helm of Sound of the 70s from Walker.
He added: “I’ll do all the things I can to take care of his legacy and curate the programme with the easiest music from that unbelievable decade.”
Keaveny, who has hosted varied exhibits on BBC Radio 6 Music and has sat in for Walker on The Rock Present earlier than, known as him one among his “final radio heroes”.
“I’m not certain how I’m going to get by way of the week with out listening to him, and his place in radio legend is assured,” he stated.
Walker’s final episode of The Rock Present will air on 25 October, and his last episode of Sounds of the 70s will air two days later.
