Tommy Walsh, the builder-turned-broadcaster who became a household name on the BBC’s Ground Force, has died
Tommy Walsh, the builder-turned-television presenter who became a familiar face on the BBC’s Ground Force, has passed away at the age of 69 following a lengthy illness.
His death was confirmed by his agent, Debbie Schiesser, who said: “Tommy died peacefully after a long illness surrounded by his family. As this has only just happened, we would ask everyone to please respect the family’s privacy”.
Walsh shot to national fame alongside Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock on Ground Force, the enormously popular BBC gardening makeover show that drew audiences of up to 12 million viewers at its height.
Having originally undertaken landscaping work for the programme’s executive producer, he was invited to audition and joined the show in 1997, The Mirror writes.
He went on to present a string of home improvement and property programmes, including Homes Under the Hammer and Flip That House with Tommy Walsh, and most recently made an appearance on the BBC series Clean It, Fix It, hosted by Mark Wright.
Tributes were paid on Monday by Old Parmiterians FC, the London club where Walsh played as a young goalkeeper. The club wrote: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tommy Walsh.
“A Parmiters boy he played for the club for many years in goal but made a great career as a TV personality in shows such as Ground Force. He will be sorely missed. RIP Tommy.”
Tommy battled cancer in the years before his death. In 2002, he found two lumps in his chest. Both his sister and aunt had also faced the disease. Fortunately, the lumps turned out to be benign and were successfully removed.
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His 2022 cancer diagnosis came to light while Tommy participated in a cancer awareness campaign. After seeing his GP, medics discovered a malignant lump in his throat, which was subsequently removed.
“I went to my GP about an unrelated issue, and while I was there, he discovered this lump in my throat that he was a bit concerned about,” he explained at the time.
“He said it may be nothing, but that he would rather I went and got it checked, and, unfortunately, it turned out to be cancerous. I had to go in straight away and have surgery to remove it. I am now fully recovered and even back playing football!”.
Twelve months on, in 2023, Tommy revealed he was confronting another health challenge – lung cancer, making the announcement at a charity function in November, stating that doctors had identified a “three-centimetre tumour in the lung” and that he had an urgent CT scan scheduled for the following day.
