As Dan Walker returns to screens this evening we remember his exit from BBC Breakfast.
Dan Walker has been a staple on screens for decades now, having first started out his TV career with Granada Television as a commentator in 2003 before joining BBC’s North West Tonight in 2004.
In 2009, he took over hosting duties of Football Focus on BBC One before landing the post of morning host on BBC Breakfast, starring alongside Louise Minchin until her departure, along with a short co-star stint with Sally Nugent too.
His exit from the iconic red sofa came as quite a surprise to fans who had tuned in daily to watch him for over a decade.
It was confirmed that Dan would be moving on to greater things, having landed the role of lead anchor over on 5 News.
This evening the iconic newsreader is back on screens, this time trying his hand at something entirely new. He will be starring in Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row, with the programme airing on Channel 5 from 9pm.
As there has been significant buzz about tonight’s upcoming episode, that’ll see Dan face a double-murderer, we couldn’t help but be reminded of his famous departure from BBC Breakfast, as well as an on-air discussion that left him facing death threats.
Why did Dan leave BBC Breakfast?
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Back in April 2022, Dan shattered the hearts of viewers across the UK as he took to the platform X, formerly Twitter, confirming he would be stepping down from his role as co-anchor on the BBC Breakfast.
He announced that he would be leaving the programme after 13-years, following an offer from a rival broadcasting giant – a proposal that he said he simply could not refuse.
At the time, Dan said: “It’s always been my dream to do a job like this. It feels a bit surreal I won’t be sitting on the sofa anymore.”
Complaint
Dan face backlash over Louis Tomlinson interview(Image: BBC)
Back in 2020, two years before Dan decided to step down from the BBC Breakfast, he and host Louise Minchin sat down with One Director star Louis Tomlinson to chat about everything going on his life.
According to the singer, he had made it absolutely clear that he would not be wanting to answer any questions about his late mother and sister.
Louis was still very much in the grieving phase after his mum died of cancer in 2016 and his sister Félicité died of an accidental drug overdose in 2019.
“Defo won’t be going on there again,” shared Louis with his fans after the interview. Dan then questioned on social media why the star had been left feeling so upset.
Louis told him: “I was upset that you continued to ask me about my grief. It goes without saying how hard it is to lose both people so close to me. The least I ask is that you respect my decision of not wanting to be asked in interviews about something so painful.
“I’m lucky enough to have a creative outlet for me to talk about grief. This doesn’t, however, give you the right to talk about it for gossip purposes.”
Death threats
Dan was threatened he’d be killed numerous times after the interview with Louis Tomlinson blew up(Image: Getty Images)
After the interview with Louis, Dan was baffled over why the singer had not been happy with the question about his grief, claiming on Gold Minds podcast with former Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill, that he’d received death threats after the on-air discussion with the singer.
The newsreader argued that his probe into The One Direction star’s grief was justified given they had already ran the question by Louis’ management team prior to going live.
Speaking to Jessica about the ordeal, Dan explained: “I used to get weird death threats from people. I did an interview with Louis Tomlinson once and I asked him what was a perfectly legitimate question about the death of his mum, and we’d already said to his people that we would ask that, and he took it badly, and wasn’t happy with it.
“You know what it’s like with One Direction, there were thousands and thousands of messages coming every 10 minutes. I think five people threatened to kill me that day.”
Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row, with the programme airing on Channel 5 from 9pm.