Dan Walker
Encyclopedia
Dan Meirion Walker is a British sports journalist. He is the current presenter of Football Focus
, the BBC
's Saturday lunchtime football show. He has also been seen presenting sport on the BBC News Channel and BBC
Network News, as well as regularly reporting for Score
, Football Focus
and Match of the Day
.
He was born on the 19th March, 1977 in Crawley
, West Sussex
and earned an honours degree in History at the University of Sheffield
, before continuing to attain an MA in Journalism at the same institution.
Gained as the prize for winning a competition for young sports commentators, Dan's professional broadcasting career started with work experience at Sheffield's Hallam FM
, working with presenters such as Emma Scott, Anthony Gay, Daryl Denham
and Scottie McClue
. In 1999 Walker moved to a full-time career with a 4 year stint as a sports presenter and commentator for Manchester's Key 103
radio. In his time at Key 103 he presented the regular midweek sports show (often broadcasting from UEFA Champions League
matches at Manchester United's Old Trafford
ground, and also appeared as the resident sports correspondent for Mike Toolan's breakfast show.
In addition, he had two short-lived comedic roles whilst at the station. The first was in 2001 on Justin Moorhouse's Piccadilly Magic 1152
show, doing 'special investigations' into numerous comical topics, such as brushes, cement and patios. While these segments were warmly received by listeners, they lasted only months before being canned. The second was in 2002 on Adam Cole
's Key 103 afternoon show, where, as Cosmic Dave, Walker took on the persona of a sham psychic and spiritualist, who physically abused his oompa-loompa assistant and fluffed even basic attempts at reading the minds of listeners and the host, before eventually being tracked down to his 'deep secret underground bureau' by the Oompa Loompa Protection Front and apparently dying. The segments were something of a success (being nominated for a New York Radio Award) and were discussed and replayed on other shows on the network, with Cosmic Dave's 'death' prompting over 2,500 messages on the station's website. However, Walker's diversification into comedy would end with his move into television.
in Manchester, appearing as a commentator on the Football League Review, before joining BBC regional news programme North West Tonight
. During this time, he was nominated for a number of awards and won the Royal Television Society
Sports Award in 2005 for Regional Sports Presenter of the Year. He was unable to attend the ceremony because he was covering the Champions League
final in Istanbul
.
In 2006 Walker started working in London and in 2008 started presenting and reporting at Wimbledon
, The Open, Aintree
, Ascot
and The Derby at Epsom
as well as the 6 Nations
.
In August 2009 Walker took over from Manish Bhasin
as the presenter of Football Focus
. He also presents the web-based Friday preview Friday Focus and writes a blog
on the BBC website where he discusses the show and football in general. He is also a regular user of social networking service Twitter
, and is responsible for the weekly "Tuesday Team News" phenomenon where users are invited to submit desperate puns based around footballers and teams.
Walker was part of the BBC Sport team covering the 2010 FIFA World Cup
. He spent the tournament travelling from Cape Town
at the start of the tournament to Johannesburg
for the final in a double-decker bus, filming packages to be shown both as part of the TV coverage and online, and providing commentary and news via the BBC's online channels and Twitter. The bus visited a diverse selection of places along its 6,000 km journey – from townships and social projects to sites of cultural and historic significance, with the intention being to provide UK viewers with a flavour of the host nation both inside and out of the stadia.
In addition to his TV work, Walker has returned to radio and can often be heard presenting the midweek 5 Live Sport
show for BBC Radio 5 Live
.
preacher, and his own Christian
faith developed in his youth and early adulthood. He has never worked or played sport on Sundays as a result. He revealed in an interview with The Sun
that he had been offered youth contracts with several football teams but refused due to games being scheduled for Sunday.
He has been married since 2001 and has three children.
Football Focus
Football Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Saturday lunchtime football show. He has also been seen presenting sport on the BBC News Channel and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Network News, as well as regularly reporting for Score
Final Score
Final Score is a BBC TV programme produced by BBC Sport. The programme is broadcast on late Saturday afternoons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, usually on BBC ONE. BBC Northern Ireland opts away during the last ten minutes to cover local results, BBC Scotland runs a different programme...
, Football Focus
Football Focus
Football Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...
and Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
.
He was born on the 19th March, 1977 in Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
and earned an honours degree in History at the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
, before continuing to attain an MA in Journalism at the same institution.
Radio career
Walker's first foray into broadcasting was co-presenting two shows on the University of Sheffield's Sure FM student radio station - the midweek sports-themed evening show and 'Dan & Edd In The Afternoon', for which he and co-presenter Ed Hoyland were nominated for a BBC Radio One Student Radio award.Gained as the prize for winning a competition for young sports commentators, Dan's professional broadcasting career started with work experience at Sheffield's Hallam FM
Hallam FM
Hallam FM is an independent local radio station serving South Yorkshire and the North Midlands from studios in Sheffield. The station is owned and operated by Bauer Radio and forms part of Bauer's Place Network of stations.-History:...
, working with presenters such as Emma Scott, Anthony Gay, Daryl Denham
Daryl Denham
Daryl Denham is a British radio DJ, and songwriter, currently presenting the drive-time show at Real Radio in Yorkshire.-Early career:Denham's career started at school, where he was active in producing pop music productions in school concerts, organizing pop quizzes and writing and performing...
and Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue is the on-air pseudonym of media consultant, actor, writer and broadcaster Colin Lamont, whoin 1992 as Senior producer and presenter at Red Rose Gold in Preston, created the persona for the Scottie McClue Mega Phone-In, networked on various Independent Local Radio stations across the...
. In 1999 Walker moved to a full-time career with a 4 year stint as a sports presenter and commentator for Manchester's Key 103
Key 103
Key 103 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the city of Manchester and the north west of England. Its output is principally contemporary pop and dance music. Formerly owned by Trans World Communications, EMAP and now by Bauer Radio, Key 103 is part of Bauer's Place Network of...
radio. In his time at Key 103 he presented the regular midweek sports show (often broadcasting from UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
matches at Manchester United's Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
ground, and also appeared as the resident sports correspondent for Mike Toolan's breakfast show.
In addition, he had two short-lived comedic roles whilst at the station. The first was in 2001 on Justin Moorhouse's Piccadilly Magic 1152
Piccadilly Magic 1152
NB Piccadilly Radio re-directs here. See also Key 103Piccadilly Magic 1152 , began broadcasting as Piccadilly Radio, which was Manchester's first commercial radio station.-Early years:...
show, doing 'special investigations' into numerous comical topics, such as brushes, cement and patios. While these segments were warmly received by listeners, they lasted only months before being canned. The second was in 2002 on Adam Cole
Adam Cole
Austin Jenkins is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Adam Cole. He competes for several independent promotions, including Combat Zone Wrestling, Maryland Championship Wrestling, Northeast Wrestling and Ring of Honor....
's Key 103 afternoon show, where, as Cosmic Dave, Walker took on the persona of a sham psychic and spiritualist, who physically abused his oompa-loompa assistant and fluffed even basic attempts at reading the minds of listeners and the host, before eventually being tracked down to his 'deep secret underground bureau' by the Oompa Loompa Protection Front and apparently dying. The segments were something of a success (being nominated for a New York Radio Award) and were discussed and replayed on other shows on the network, with Cosmic Dave's 'death' prompting over 2,500 messages on the station's website. However, Walker's diversification into comedy would end with his move into television.
Television career
Walker moved into TV with a 6-month spell at Granada TelevisionGranada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
in Manchester, appearing as a commentator on the Football League Review, before joining BBC regional news programme North West Tonight
BBC North West Tonight
BBC North West Tonight is a nightly regional news programme covering the North West of England. Produced by BBC North West, the programme airs at 6.30pm and at 10:25pm every weekday evening and is broadcast from the BBC's MediaCityUK studios at Salford Quays.-BBC North West region:The BBC North...
. During this time, he was nominated for a number of awards and won the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Sports Award in 2005 for Regional Sports Presenter of the Year. He was unable to attend the ceremony because he was covering the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
final in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
In 2006 Walker started working in London and in 2008 started presenting and reporting at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, The Open, Aintree
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside. It lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, about north of Liverpool city centre, in North West England....
, Ascot
Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...
and The Derby at Epsom
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...
as well as the 6 Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
.
In August 2009 Walker took over from Manish Bhasin
Manish Bhasin
Manish Bhasin is a sports journalist and presenter currently working for the BBC as presenter of The Football League Show.-Early career:Bhasin graduated in 1997 from Anglia Ruskin University with a degree in "Communication Studies with English" and completed a diploma in "Broadcast Journalism" at...
as the presenter of Football Focus
Football Focus
Football Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...
. He also presents the web-based Friday preview Friday Focus and writes a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on the BBC website where he discusses the show and football in general. He is also a regular user of social networking service Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, and is responsible for the weekly "Tuesday Team News" phenomenon where users are invited to submit desperate puns based around footballers and teams.
Walker was part of the BBC Sport team covering the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. He spent the tournament travelling from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
at the start of the tournament to Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
for the final in a double-decker bus, filming packages to be shown both as part of the TV coverage and online, and providing commentary and news via the BBC's online channels and Twitter. The bus visited a diverse selection of places along its 6,000 km journey – from townships and social projects to sites of cultural and historic significance, with the intention being to provide UK viewers with a flavour of the host nation both inside and out of the stadia.
In addition to his TV work, Walker has returned to radio and can often be heard presenting the midweek 5 Live Sport
5 Live Sport
5 Live Sport is the flagship sports programme on BBC Radio Five Live and part of the BBC Sport division. It broadcasts daily, 7pm - 10.30pm Monday - Thursday, 7pm -10pm Friday, 12noon - 6pm Weekends...
show for BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
.
Personal life
Walker is the son of a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
preacher, and his own Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
faith developed in his youth and early adulthood. He has never worked or played sport on Sundays as a result. He revealed in an interview with The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
that he had been offered youth contracts with several football teams but refused due to games being scheduled for Sunday.
He has been married since 2001 and has three children.