Johnnie Walker, one of the nation’s most legendary broadcasters, has announced to listeners in an emotional statement that he will give his last broadcast later this month.
Appearing on his afternoon gig of Sounds of the 70s today, Johnnie, 79, revealed he will be stepping down from his hosting duties on the Radio 2 and BBC Sounds shows – Sounds of the 70s and The Rock Show.
He made the emotional announcement after reading a letter from one of his loyal listeners, who wrote in to share that their late father loved listening to the broadcaster before he died ofpulmonary fibrosis in 2022.
The admission prompted Johnnie, who also has the condition, to make a ‘very sad announcement’.
‘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, so I’ve had to make the decision that I need to bring my career to an end after 58 years,’ he said.
He added that his last Sounds of the 70s show will be on October 27.
Promoting that he would make his final shows ‘as good as I possibly can,’ he added that this week in 1978, The Rolling Stones guest starred on Saturday Night Live and performed three tracks from their album, Some Girls.
‘Well, one of the tracks on the album seems quite suitable at the moment,’ Johnnie told listeners before playing the hit song, Miss You.
After sharing the tough news, Johnnie told fans his replacement for Sounds of the 70s will be Bob Harris, aka. Whispering Bob.
‘Bob Harris will be in charge of Sounds of the 70s from the 3rd of November,’ he said.
BBC later announced in a statement that Johnnie’s last hosting day of The Rock Show will be on Friday, October 25, between 11pm-12am.
Shaun Keaveny, a popular radio DJ, podcaster and television presenter, will take over for the star on November 1.
Following Johnnie’s announcement, Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, issued a statement in which she called him a ‘broadcasting legend’.
Adding that he is ‘someone who has shaped the sound of pop music radio since its earliest days on the pirate ships.’
‘Everyone at Radio 2, and I’m sure his millions of listeners, would like to thank Johnnie for entertaining us for so many decades with his brilliantly crafted shows. He leaves the station with our love, huge thanks and best wishes.
‘He will be much missed on the airwaves and by his listeners, who have adored listening to his shows over the years. We are in awe of his incredible legacy, which speaks for itself.’
News of Johnnie’s retirement from the popular radio shows follows his battle with cancer in the early 2000s and, more recently, his four-year battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a condition in which the lungs become scarred, and breathing becomes increasingly difficult.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been completely housebound but determined to continue hosting his popular shows from his Dorset home which he shares with his wife Tiggy.
In June the couple appeared in a Sounds of the 70s with Johnnie Walker special, where they spoke about the challenges they are facing as his health rapidly deteriorates.
‘I’m so tired,’ Tiggy, 63, said about caring for Johnnie full-time on the Walker & Walker podcast. ‘Sometimes I find it hard to go on.’
She continued: ‘When you had a Zoom consultation with the consultant from London recently, and he said: “You should prepare Johnnie to go at any moment, is everything in order?” and he then went “equally, you might be around for six months.”
‘And internally I thought, “Oh my goodness, how can I keep up this level of caring for six months?” Because it’s just about my own energy. Caring is hard.’
The couple have not given another update on Johnnie’s health amid his recent announcement.
Johnnie first started working in radio in 1966 on an offshore pirate station called Swinging Radio England. After a stint on the station, he moved to Radio Caroline to host the night-time show, quickly becoming a household name.
The broadcaster moved to BBC Radio 1 in 1969 after the closure of Radio Caroline and worked as a much-loved DJ, hosting a popular lunchtime show which played music from the then up-and-coming artists like Fleetwood Mac and Steve Harley.
By 1976, Johnnie was ready to spread his wings. He relocated to San Francisco for a hosting gig on Radio Luxembourg, only to return to the UK in the early 1980s, where he dabbled in multiple stations, including ILR Radio West and Radio 1.
Minus a brief break in 2003 following his cancer diagnosis, Johnnie has maintained a strong presence in the radio industry. Since 2009, he has hosted Radio 2’s Sounds of the 70s and launched The Rock Show in 2018, hosting ever since.
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