DJ Johnnie Walker's wife on caring for 'soulmate'

Johnnie Walker and his wife Tiggy lived near Shaftesbury in Dorset

At the home she shared with Radio 2 DJ Johnnie Walker, near Shaftesbury in Dorset, Tiggy Walker tips out what she calls the "basket of love" on to the kitchen island.

Inside are hundreds of envelopes, sent to her late husband from listeners in the weeks before he died.

One is addressed to "DJ Extraordinaire, Shaftesbury". Another simply reads "DJ and hero".

Tiggy explains: "All of these came without our address on.

"People would write messages to the postman saying 'we know Johnnie is out there, please get this to him'. I just love the fact they all got to us."

Johnnie started his career on pirate radio in the 1960s, before moving on to Radio 1 and Radio 2.

Some of the hundreds of envelopes that arrived at the couple's home

In 2019 he was diagnosed with the rare, terminal lung condition idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

By last year, he was reliant on oxygen but continued to record his radio shows from his home.

Tiggy, who grew up near Alton in Hampshire, says doing the work was "his driving force" and "kept him going".

"Johnnie was gifted as a radio person," she says. "He really felt that bond with listeners.

"He was so brave. He was incredibly ill but he kept on broadcasting.

"He had a wheelchair. If he got out of it, into another chair, it would take him ages, just panting and panting and panting, he just couldn't get the breath."

Johnnie Walker was a DJ for 58 years

Johnnie presented his last Sounds of the 70s programme in October 2024.

Tiggy, who had been his agent and manager, became his full time carer.

She has documented their life together and the challenges of her caring role in her book Both Sides Now, which she began to write when Johnnie was ill.

"When I went to bed I would wake in the middle of the night because I was worried about Johnnie and I would write then - and it was like therapy.

"In terms of physical energy it was very challenging because I was not stopping all day.

"When you add, on top of that, the emotional aspect of 'I don't know when he is going to die, am I going to wake up and find him dead in bed?' - it was difficult."

Johnnie Walker pictured at home after he recorded his last show in October 2024

Tiggy remembers how on one particular day, when her stress levels were high, the telephone kept ringing.

"I picked it up and just said 'HELLO!' really rudely, which I don't do, normally, and this charming, delicate voice on the other end said 'hello Tiggy, it's Elton'.

Elton John had phoned to thank Johnnie for all his support in his career. The pair then talked "like old friends".

Tiggy recalls how the cards and letters from listeners continued to arrive at their house after his final programme.

"Johnnie read every one of them," she says. "The cards didn't just say 'thank you'. They were outpourings.

"He was their friend and they wanted to let him know what he meant to them."

Tiggy and Johnnie Walker married in 2002

Johnnie died at home on New Year's Eve 2024. He was 79 years old.

Tiggy says completing the book has been an opportunity to reflect on her life with Johnnie, which she says was "never boring".

"You never knew what was going to come next with Johnnie.

"I am really lucky to have found my soulmate and to have had all those years together.

"He loved me very deeply and I am lucky to have experienced that."