Bradley Walsh

Not to be confused with Brad Walsh.

Bradley Walsh
Walsh in July 2012.
Born	(1960-06-04) 4 June 1960 Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Residence	Epping, Essex
Occupation	Actor, stand up comedian, television presenter, footballer
Years active	1994–present
Employer	ITV
Spouse(s)	Donna Derby (m. 1997)
Children	Hayley (b. 1982) Barney (b. 1997)
Parents	Margaret O'Connell Daniel T. Walsh (deceased)
Website
Official website

Bradley Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English entertainer, actor, television presenter and former professional footballer. Walsh rose to fame in the mid-1990s after he became a presenter on The National Lottery and currently stars in the ITV drama series Law & Order: UK and also presents the ITV quiz show The Chase. Between 2004 and 2006 he appeared as regular character Danny Baldwin in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street.

Early life

Walsh grew up in Leavesden, near Watford, Hertfordshire. He attended what is now Francis Combe Academy, a comprehensive school in Garston, Hertfordshire. At school, Walsh showed a particular interest in sports and media, and successfully passed 'O' Levels in both subjects. He was also a prominent member of the school's football squad, scoring 64 goals during his tenure. In the late 1970s, at the age of 18, Walsh became a professional football player for Brentford and although he failed to make the first team, he was regularly a member of the reserves. Separate ankle fracture injuries finished his career in the game in the early 1980s after a promising loan spell with non-league minnows Dunstable Town, for whom he scored 15 goals in 25 league appearances. Walsh's time at Brentford also saw him play for Barnet on loan, making five league appearances in the 1978–79 season. Walsh was at Barnet at the same time as the legendary, renowned player Jimmy Greaves.

Television

Personal information
Full name	Bradley Walsh
Playing position	Centre forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1978–1982	Brentford	0	(0)
1978–1979	→ Barnet (loan)	5	(0)
1981–1982	→ Dunstable Town (loan)	25	(15)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Walsh first came to prominence on television in 1994, after he won a role as one of the presenting team on the National Lottery, broadcast regularly on Saturday and Wednesday evenings on BBC One. After Walsh became a public favourite, he was quickly snapped up by rival TV channel ITV, who offered him the role as presenter on one of the network's new game shows, Midas Touch. In 1997, Walsh was asked to front the British adaptation of popular US game show, Wheel of Fortune.

Walsh's tenure on Wheel of Fortune lasted just that one year (1997), when he decided to turn his hand to acting. He was succeeded by John Leslie. His first acting job involved a minor role in the Channel 4 TV series, Lock, Stock.... Channel 4 later approached Walsh for a role in their 2001 TV film, Mike Bassett: England Manager.

He returned to ITV in 2002, after he won a regular role in the short lived British soap opera Night and Day. He featured in a total of 52 episodes. In 2003, Walsh played a minor role in the second episode of The Bill spin-off M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team. In 2004, Walsh was approached by one of the nation's biggest shows, Coronation Street.

On 31 May 2004, Walsh's first scenes in Coronation Street, as factory boss Danny Baldwin, were aired. It was originally envisioned that Walsh's character would be called Vic, however, Walsh asked for the character's name to be changed to Danny after his late father. He also commented that "people had previously called me Young Danny, so I thought it would not be so bad when people called me by my character name." In May 2006, Walsh won the award for 'Best Dramatic Performance' in his role as Danny at the British Soap Awards. In December 2006, Walsh was written out of the serial, but he was not killed off, at his own request. During his time in Coronation Street, Walsh also appeared as Burglar Bill at the Children's Party at the Palace 2006.

In 2007, Walsh took part in Northern Rock's All Star Golf Tournament on ITV, in which his team, Team Europe, won. Walsh stated that he has been playing golf since he was twenty years old. On 9 September 2007, Walsh hosted the countdown 50 Greatest Stars Polls on ITV, in which people had to vote for their favourite polls on celebrities. In October 2007, Walsh appeared in the three part TV drama Torn. On 29 December 2007, Walsh hosted the countdown No. 1 Soap Fan on ITV.

In August 2008, Walsh appeared in the talent show Maestro, which was broadcast on BBC Two. He placed sixth out of a total of eight contestants. In the same month, he also fronted his own four-part ITV series entitled My Little Soldier, in which young contestants are required to do "grown-up things" such as travelling on their own by train. During November and December 2008, Walsh hosted another game show for ITV called Spin Star. During 2008, Walsh also appeared in two episodes of Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, in the second story of series two, The Day of the Clown, as a sinister entity that fed off other people's fear. In his role, he played three parts of the same ego - a sinister American sounding clown called Odd Bob, a mysterious European sounding ringmaster called Elijah Spellman, and the infamous Pied Piper of Hamelin.

In January 2009, Walsh, along with his son Barney, featured in a special edition of Channel 5 factual TV series, Dangerous Adventures for Boys, based on the best-selling book written by Conn and Hal Iggulden, The Dangerous Book for Boys. Walsh and his son became involved in a hill-climbing activity before learning how to pilot a biplane. In January 2009, Walsh's tenure as the lead male actor in ITV crime drama Law & Order: UK began. Walsh plays the character of DS Ronnie Brooks, a recovering alcoholic who has been in the police force for over twenty years. During his time in the programme, Brooks has been paired with DS Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber) and DS Sam Casey (Paul Nicholls). Since the series began, Walsh has starred in a total of over thirty-nine episodes, becoming the only original actor to stay with the series to the present day. In June 2009, Walsh became the presenter of popular ITV teatime game show The Chase and in 2010 and 2011, Walsh was the presenter of Saturday night panel show Odd One In, alongside regular guests Peter Andre and Jason Manford. Since 2012, Walsh has hosted the Crime Thriller Awards on ITV3.

Personal life

Walsh is the son of Margaret (née O'Connell) and Daniel Terence "Danny" Walsh (8 August 1934-12 November 1993), both of Irish descent. Walsh has a younger sister, Kerri. Walsh married choreographer Donna Derby in 1997, and they have one son, Barney (born 1997). The family live in Epping, Essex. He has a daughter Hayley (born 1982), from a previous relationship. During his appearance on That's What I Call Television with Fern Britton, Walsh declared that he is an Arsenal fan. During the first quarter of 2010, Walsh completed a stand up comedy tour throughout theatres in the UK. On 22 October 2010, Walsh was in attendance at the funeral of fellow actor and comedian Sir Norman Wisdom. Walsh appeared in "Peter Pan", the Christmas pantomime at Cliffs Pavilion, Southend during December 2010 and January 2011. In 2011, Walsh co-authored a series of personalised football story books entitled My Dream Cup Final with..., which were published in June 2011. In January 2012, Walsh took part in a public charity event in which he cycled from Northern France to Portugal to raise money for Sane.

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Role
2001	Mike Bassett: England Manager	Dave Dodds
	The Glow	George - The Butler

TV

Year	Show	Role
1995	Midas Touch	Himself
1997	Wheel of Fortune
2000	Lock, Stock...	Larry Harmless
	The Thing About Vince	Perry
2001	Hotel	Henry
2002–03	Night and Day	Eddie 'Woody' Dexter
2003	Reps	Terry Arnold
	M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team	Phil Seagrove
2004	The Basil Brush Show	Mr Savage
	Murder City	Ken Hill
2004–06	Coronation Street	Danny Baldwin
2007	Torn	Steven Taylor
	The Old Curiosity Shop	Mr Liggers
2008	The Sarah Jane Adventures	Odd Bob / Elijah Spellman / The Pied Piper
2009–present	The Chase	Himself
	Law & Order: UK	DS Ronnie Brooks
2010-11	Odd One In	Himself
2012–present	The Crime Thriller Awards	Himself

Online documentaries

Year	Title	Role
2013	Imagine Africa	Himself

External links

• Bradley Walsh at the Internet Movie Database
• Bradley Walsh Official Site
• Bradley Walsh Management - Debi Allen

Preceded by Nicky Campbell

Host of Wheel of Fortune 1997

Succeeded by John Leslie