What was DJ Johnnie Walker’s illness? Former BBC Radio 2 DJ dies at 79

Radio presenter cum DJ Johnnie Walker passed away Tuesday at the age of 79. The news comes on the heels of his retirement from his 58-year-long stint on radio, which he quit, citing health concerns.

Presenter Bob Harris announced his former colleague's demise on-air, noting that he was an incredible, warm, superb broadcaster.

"who went out on a limb many times to defend the music that he loved, and he was passionate about radio."

At the time of his retirement in October, Johnnie Walker revealed that he had been afflicted with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an intense respiratory illness that impacts breathing due to the scarring of the lungs.

All we know about Johnnie Walker's life and legacy as he once said, it was hard for him to say goodbye

As reported by the BBC, DJ Johnnie Walker stepped down from hosting Sounds of the 70s and the Rock Show, both of which were on Radio 2, at the end of October. At the time, for his final broadcast, he stated that he would not be taking any requests, as all of the songs played would be his choices, noting:

"I'm playing all the ones I love."

The final show featured goodbyes from his wife, Tiggy, and Sir Rod Stewart, just before Walker bid adieu to his listeners:

"May we walk into the future with our heads held high and happiness in our hearts."

Though he joined Sounds of the 70s in 2009, his career with headphones spans almost sixty years. Originally from Birmingham, the veteran broadcaster began his career with pirate radio. From there, he made his foray into BBC Radio 1 in 1969, where he stayed until 1976.

Thereafter, he moved to San Francisco and began recording for Radio Luxembourg. However, he decided to move back to the BBC in the 1980s, and he stayed with the channel until his retirement. During his last episode of Radio 4’s Today program, Walker revealed it was hard for him to leave:

"Over the years, we’ve done an awful lot of living together, and so, you know, we’ve been through a lot of experiences, so we’ve developed a very close bond. Really, I get cards from people saying: ‘You’re the friend I’ve never met’ and things like that. So it will be sad to say goodbye.”

Tiggy, the wife of Johnnie Walker, told the BBC that she was proud of her husband for his ability to continue broadcasting nearly to the end and for handling his crippling lung illness with grace and dignity.

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. "And if I may say - what a day to go. 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."

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It seems that Johnnie Walker had been receiving chemotherapy and had to have emergency surgery for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma back in 2003 while he was hosting Radio 2. But after more than two months of therapy, he prevailed.

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