Bradley Walsh

Bradley Walsh
Walsh in September 2008.
Born	4 June 1960 (1960-06-04) Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Occupation	Actor, television presenter, footballer
Years active	1994–present
Spouse	Donna Derby (1997–present)
Website
www.bradleywalsh.co.uk

Bradley Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English light entertainer, television actor, comedian and former professional footballer. Walsh rose to fame in the early 1990s after he became a presenter on the National Lottery.

Early life

Walsh grew up in Leavesden, near Watford. 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, of which both he successfully passed 'O' Levels in. 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 F.C., although he failed to make the first team, and was regularly a member of the reserves. Separate ankle fracture injuries finished his career in the game in the early 80s. During his time at Brentford, he also played for Barnet FC on loan, at the same time as famous player Jimmy Greaves.

Television

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 BBC1. After Walsh became a public favourite, he was quickly snapped up by rival TV channel ITV1, who offered him the role as presenter on one of the network's new game shows, Midas Touch. When the series finished in the summer of 1997, Walsh was asked to front the British adaptation of popular US game show, Wheel of Fortune. His tenure lasted until early 2000, when he decided to turn his hand to acting. He was suceeded 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 ITV1 in 2002, after he won a regular role in the short lived British soap opera Night and Day. He featured in a total of fifty-two 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 May 31, 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 September 9, 2007, Walsh hosted the countdown 50 Greatest Stars Polls on ITV1, 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 December 29, 2007, Walsh hosted the countdown No. 1 Soap Fan on ITV1.

In August 2008, Walsh appeared in the reality talent show television series, Maestro, which was broadcast on BBC Two. He placed fourth 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 ITV1, this time in the form of ten-part series 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. In his role, he played three parts of the same ego - a sinister clown called Odd Bob, and 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 Five 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 ITV1 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 forty episodes, becoming one of only three actors to stay with the series to the present day, the others being female lead Freema Agyeman (Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips) and Harriet Walter (DI Natalie Chandler). In June 2009, Walsh became the presenter of ITV tea-time game show The Chase. To date, six series of The Chase have been aired, including a six-part celebrity series. In 2010, Walsh became the presenter of Saturday night panel show Odd One In, alongside regular guets Peter Andre and Jason Manford. Two eight-part series have been shown to date, with a third series expected to air in 2012.

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 FC fan. During the first quarter of 2010, Walsh completed a tour of stand-up comedy performances throughout theatres in the UK. On October 22, 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. As of January 2012, Walsh is currently in training for a public event in which he will be cycling from the North of France to Portugal to raise money for Sane.

Filmography

Films

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

TV

Year	Show	Role	Notes
1995	Midas Touch	Himself	Host
1997	Wheel of Fortune
2000	Lock, Stock...	Larry Harmless	1 episode: ...And a Fistful of Jack & Jills
	The Thing About Vince	Perry	1 episode: 1.3
2001	Hotel	Henry
2002–03	Night and Day	Eddie 'Woody' Dexter	Series regular
2003	Reps	Terry Arnold
	M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team	Phil Seagrove	1 episode: Daddy's Little Girl
2004	The Basil Brush Show	Mr Savage	1 episode: Bend It Like Basil
	Murder City	Ken Hill	1 episode: Big City, Small World
2004–06	Coronation Street	Danny Baldwin	Series regular
2007	Torn	Steven Taylor	3 part series
	The Old Curiosity Shop	Mr Liggers
2008	The Sarah Jane Adventures	Odd Bob / Elijah Spellman / The Pied Piper	2 episodes: The Day of the Clown (Parts 1 & 2)
2009–present	The Chase	Himself	Host
2009–present	Law & Order: UK	DS Ronnie Brooks	Series regular
2010—present	Odd One In	Himself	Host

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