This is Johnnie Walker’s emotional send off from his BBC Radio 2 show – as tributes are pouring in following his death aged 79.
At the end of October, Walker presented his final Sounds Of The 70s show on BBC Radio 2 and hosted his last episode of The Rock Show as he retired due to ill health.
He signed off his last broadcast saying: ‘[It’s] going to be very strange not to be on the wireless anymore.
‘Also, by the same token, life will be slightly less of a strain really, trying to find the breath in order to do the programmes.
‘Thank you for being with me all these years and take good care of yourself and those you love and may we walk into the future with our heads held high and happiness in our hearts. God bless you.’
Walker, who has been a joyous presence in the lives of Brits for more than half a century, was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis five years ago. It is a rare, progressive illness that scars the lungs and increasingly robs him of breath.
He hadn’t left his home in Shaftesbury, Dorset, since January when his health deteriorated at a terrifying rate or, with his wife Tiggy saying ‘he fell off a cliff’.
Today, Johnnie’s grieving wife, Tiggy said: ‘I couldn’t be more proud of Johnnie – 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.
‘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.’
Previously in October Walker had told listeners he had 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 […], so I’ve had to make the decision that I need to bring my career to an end,’ he said.
He also heartbreakingly admitted he was ready to die as he stepped down in October.
‘Sometimes I go to bed and think, “It would be nice, really, if this is the night I go”,’ he said at the time.
In a crushingly honest interview with Mail+ before his death, Johnnie said: ‘I’m not worried about dying. I have an unshakeable belief in an afterlife.
‘I think it’s a beautiful place. Unless you’ve done some awful things down here, I don’t think there’s anything to fear.
‘What I am a little bit frightened of is what the end will be like when you’re fighting for breath. It doesn’t sound a very nice way to go.’