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Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

coverage for the

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...

between 1976 and 1996, and for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

between 1997 and 2001. During his 23-year run as full-time commentator, Walker became known for his animated enthusiasm, authoritative voice and comical blunders – dubbed " Murrayisms" by fans – during live races. His commentary voice has been likened to a "screech and resembles a 500cc engine being revved up". He retired from full-time commentary after the 2001 United States Grand Prix, but returned to broadcasting part-time in 2005 and made occasional appearances on the BBC,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

and

Sky Sports F1 Sky Sports F1 is a television channel created exclusively for Sky's UK and Ireland coverage of Formula One, with Sky having a package of rights from the 2012 season to the 2029 season. From 2012 to 2029, Sky Sports F1 has the exclusive rights ...

Early life

Graeme Murray Walker was born at 214 Reddings Lane in

Hall Green Hall Green is an area in southeast Birmingham, England, synonymous with the B28 postcode. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Historically it lay within the county of Worcestershire. Politics Hall Green i ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, on 10 October 1923. His family is of Scottish descent. His father Graham Walker was a

despatch rider A despatch rider (or dispatch) is a military messenger, mounted on horse or motorcycle (and occasionally in Egypt during World War I, on camels). In the UK 'despatch rider' is also a term used for a motorcycle courier. Despatch riders were use ...

and works motorcyclist for the

Norton Motorcycle Company The Norton Motorcycle Company (formerly Norton Motors, Ltd.) is a brand of motorcycles, originally based in Birmingham, England. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles was owned by North American financiers. From ...

who participated in the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

. His mother, Elsie Spratt, was the daughter of Harry Spratt, a businessman from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. Walker was an only child. In 1925 Walker and his family moved to

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

when Graham became the Competition Manager for Sunbeam. The family later moved to

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

in 1928, when Graham worked as the Sales and Competition Director for

Rudge-Whitworth Rudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, Whitworth Cycle Co. of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry Pug ...

. Walker's education began with a governess at the family home, followed by spells at preparatory schools around the country. He attended Highgate School, gaining a Distinction in Divinity. While at Highgate he joined the School Bugles, learning to play the bugle. Walker was at a trials event with his father in Austria when the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

occurred in September 1939. Upon returning to Britain, the Highgate School governors became concerned about the possible extent of bombing raids on London, and so Walker and his fellow pupils were evacuated to

Westward Ho! Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford, and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Sau ...

in Devon, staying there until 1941. During this time, Walker rose to the rank of Company Sergeant Major of the School Corps. Walker was later conscripted into the armed forces and applied to volunteer for tanks, but was required to wait until a training place became available. In the meantime, he worked with the Dunlop Rubber Company, which offered 12 scholarships annually and was based at

Fort Dunlop Fort Dunlop (), is the common name of the original tyre factory and main office of Dunlop Rubber in the Erdington district of Birmingham, England. It was established in 1917, and by 1954 the entire factory area employed 10,000 workers. At one ti ...

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

, Birmingham. Walker had been evacuated to Erdington and lived with the Bellamy family at 58 Holly Lane. On 1 October 1942 he travelled to

Wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

in Dorset, where he reported to the 30th Primary Training Wing at

Bovington Bovington Camp () is a British Army military base in Dorset, England. Together with Lulworth Camp it forms part of Bovington Garrison. The garrison is home to The Armour Centre and contains two barracks complexes and two forest and heathland tr ...

, the headquarters of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

. Walker later attended and graduated from the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

, and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard ...

on 16 April 1944. The salute at his commissioning parade was taken by American

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, the Supreme Allied Commander for the upcoming Allied invasion of Normandy. Walker went on to command a

Sherman tank } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It w ...

and to participate in the

Battle of the Reichswald A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

with the 4th Armoured Brigade. He left the Army in 1946, having attained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Following the war, Walker briefly followed in his father's footsteps by taking up motorcycle racing, competing against, among others, a young

John Surtees John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...

. After limited success, he switched to competing in

motorcycle trials Motorcycle trials, also known as observed trials, often called simply trial/s (with or without the plural "s"), is a non-speed event on specialized motorcycles. The sport is most popular in the United Kingdom and Spain, though there are participan ...

, where he made a greater mark, including taking a gold at the International Six Days Trial and winning a first-class award at the

Scottish Six Days Trial The Scottish Six Days Trial is an internationally recognised Motorcycle trials competition, which has been running since 1909 (with breaks for the two world wars) making it the oldest motorcycle trials event in the world. Motorcycle riders from al ...

. After briefly attending Roehampton Technical Institute to study shipping management, Walker worked in advertising for Dunlop and Aspro. He was then headhunted by

McCann Erickson McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCann, expe ...

, where he worked on the firm's account with

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...

. Following this, he was employed as an accounts director by the Masius advertising agency, with clients including

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

, for whom they created the slogan "A

a day helps you work rest and play"; Walker repeatedly denied the attribution of the slogan to himself, saying that he was only an administrator on the project. He did not retire from this until the age of 59, long after he had gained fame as a commentator. Walker created the slogan "Trill makes budgies bounce with health" – an advertising slogan for bird seed in the 1960s – as well as the slogan " Opal Fruits, made to make your mouth water." He is credited with the naming of the late 1960s Vauxhall Ventora, with the car's original proposed name, Ventura, being rejected by

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Career as a commentator

Walker made his first public broadcast at

Shelsley Walsh hillclimb The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a Hillclimbing, hillclimb in Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club (MAC). It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is the oldest to have been s ...

in 1948. He was given a recorded audition for the BBC at the 1949 Easter Monday Goodwood race. Walker later commentated on races alongside the tennis commentator

Max Robertson William Maxwell Robertson (28 August 1915 – 20 November 2009) was a sports commentator, radio and television presenter and author. He is best remembered for his forty years of tennis coverage on BBC Radio. Life and career Robertson was ...

, with his first radio broadcasting coming at the

1949 British Grand Prix The 1949 British Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix motor race which was held at Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone on 14 May 1949. The race was won by Emmanuel de Graffenried driving a Maserati 4CLT. Background The 1949 Grand ...

for the BBC. He and Robertson were positioned at Stowe corner for the event. His debut television broadcast came in the same year when he commentated on hill-climbing at the Knatts Valley motorcycle venue in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. His first regular broadcasting work was on radio coverage of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

annual Tourist Trophy motorcycle race alongside his father. Walker and his father were the single father and son sports commentary pair within the BBC from 1949 to 1962. After the death of his father in 1962, he became the BBC's chief motorcycling commentator. He did occasional Formula 1 commentaries during the 1970s before going full-time for the 1978 season. Walker was asked by the head of BBC Sport Paul Fox to commentate on the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Bristol, and he asked the weightlifter Oscar Slate to educate him on the sport. He covered motocross (initially for ITV and BBC) during the 1960s and rallycross in the 1970s and early 1980s. He occasionally commentated on

scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It is also used to describe terrain that falls between hiking and rock climbing (as a “scramb ...

(now motocross) motorcycle racing and rallying during the 1960s through to the 1980s. Walker covered the

British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...

(BTCC) for the BBC between 1969 and 1971 and also 1988 and 1997, and the

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

for Hong Kong TV on nine occasions. He joined the Channel 7 commentary team of the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...

Australian touring car race in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

and 1998. As the BBC began to broadcast additional forms of motor racing, he commented on

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

and

truck racing Truck racing is a form of motorsport road racing which involves modified versions of heavy tractor units on road racing or Oval track racing, oval track Race track, circuits. History The sport started in the United States at the Atlanta Motor S ...

. On Formula One coverage from the 1980 Monaco Grand Prix to the 1993 Canadian Grand Prix, Walker struck up a surprisingly successful, and extremely popular, double act with World Champion

James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) ''Autocourse Grand Prix Archive'', 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007. was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in . After retiring from racing in ...

. Initially, they did not get on, as Hunt's interests, personality and private life appeared to have little in common with Walker's. However, the pair eventually became good friends. Walker and Hunt were to work together for more than a decade at the

...
, until Hunt's death from a heart attack two days after the 1993 Canadian Grand Prix, aged 45. When in the commentary booth together, Walker would provide his animated descriptions of the action, with Hunt bringing in his expert knowledge, which included inside information from the pit lane, typically from his former team

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

, and often opinionated nature, in his co-commentary role. The pair did not always get along in the commentary box. Typically, they had to share one microphone which meant passing it back and forth to each other. On one occasion early in their partnership, Walker would not hand the microphone over after repeated requests by Hunt for him to do so. In frustration, Hunt stood and grabbed the microphone from him, which caused the normally cool Walker to grab the former World Champion by the collar and raise his fist to hit his partner before a producer intervened. After Hunt died, former F1 driver and BBC pit lane reporter

Jonathan Palmer Jonathan Charles Palmer (born 7 November 1956) is a British businessman and former Formula One racing driver. Before opting for a career in motor racing, Palmer trained as a physician at London's Guys Hospital. He also worked as a junior phys ...

joined Walker in the commentary box until the end of 1996, though in individuals such as three-time world champion

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cha ...

took the role as Walker's partner for the

1993 British Grand Prix The 1993 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 11 July 1993. It was the ninth race of the 1993 Formula One World Championship. The 59-lap race was won from pole position by Alain Prost, driving a Williams-Re ...

and World Champion Alan Jones commented alongside Walker in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

at the end of the season following a request by ''

Nine's Wide World of Sports ''Nine's Wide World of Sports'' is a long running sports anthology brand on Australian television that airs on the Nine Network and streaming service Stan. All major sports, events and series covered by the network are broadcast under this br ...

''. The following year, the television rights of the UK television coverage transferred to ITV, and Walker followed. His co-commentator from the 1997 season until his retirement from commentating was another former F1 driver,

Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012. Brundle contested the 19 ...

. Jonathan Martin, the head of

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

, retained Walker's services for the corporation's coverage of the BTCC after the latter's rolling contract expired with them in May 1997. Walker opted not to renew his contract with the BBC in 1998 to focus on ITV's broadcasting on Formula One and he did not want to frequently commute to London to record commentary of the BTCC. There were a few Grands Prix between 1978 and 1996 that Walker did not commentate on while employed by the BBC, usually as a result of his commentating elsewhere. Some of these included the

1979 Belgian Grand Prix The 1979 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 1979 at Circuit Zolder, Zolder. It was the sixth race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors. The 70-lap race was won ...

and 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix (when Simon Taylor deputised for him), the German Grands Prix of

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

(both commentated on by Barrie Gill), and the 1985 German Grand Prix ( Tony Jardine). In 1988, Walker appeared in two television advertisements opposite actor

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadwa ...

, who played the part of a salesman attempting to persuade Walker and racing driver

Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...

to purchase an

Austin Metro The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin mini Metro. It was intended to complement and eventually replace the M ...

. In 1996, as part of

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...

's global advertising strategy using celebrities, he and

driver

Damon Hill Damon Graham Devereux Hill, (born 17 September 1960) is a British former professional racing driver from England and the 1996 Formula One World Champion. He is the son of Graham Hill, and, along with Nico Rosberg, one of two sons of a Formu ...

advertised the chain's new stuffed-crust pizza. Walker also wrote a series of annuals for the Grand Prix season, ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year''. He presented a six-part radio series called "Murray Walker's Grand Prix World" on

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

from May to June 1997, detailing the history and development of Formula One. He broke his hip at the 2000 Goodwood Festival of Speed and was replaced for the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

by pit lane reporter James Allen. At the 2000 German Grand Prix, Walker erroneously said that Ferrari driver

Rubens Barrichello Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 Toy ...

had crashed when it actually was his teammate

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...

. This led to criticism about his frequent errors in an article published by the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' on the following day, and it prompted Walker to speak to his bosses at

ITV Sport ITV Sport is a sport producer for ITV. It was formed following the merger between Granada Sport and Central Sport.Brian Barwick Brian Robert Barwick (born 21 June 1954) has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in major sports broadcasting and administration. He was awarded an OBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to sport and broadcasting. Br ...

that he would retire. Barwick told Walker he did not believe that retirement was ideal and suggested to Walker he commentate for another season to wind down his career. Walker announced to the press his retirement from Formula One commentary in December 2000. He would commentate on 12 Grands Prix before continuing to work for ITV in a reduced role entering .

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is an English business magnate. He is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns ...

, the owner of Formula One's commercial rights, had suggested to Walker that he commentate on his world feed television coverage, which was declined. His final full-time Formula One television commentary was the 2001 United States Grand Prix and he was awarded an original brick from "The Brickyard" by track president

Tony George Anton Hulman "Tony" George (born December 30, 1959) is the former Chairman, President, and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Company, serving from 1989 to 2009. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of both entities. ...

. He was appointed an OBE in the 1996 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting and motor sports. In November 1997, Walker was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree from

Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The univer ...

. He was later honoured, in July 2005, with an honorary doctorate from the Middlesex University, London. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1997 when he was surprised by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', ''Give Us a Clue'', '' This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

during a promotional video launch at the Sports Cafe in London's Lower

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...

. Walker was named the winner of the Gregor Grant Award from the motor racing magazine

Autosport ''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One World Championship. Autosport began life as a weekly magazine in 1950 ...

in 1993. In 2000, he won the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Lifetime Achievement Award, and was named the recipient of the BAFTA Special Award for Contribution to Television in 2002.

Later years

He was retained by ITV on a part-time role reviewing the 2002 season at various points. Walker's autobiography, ''Unless I'm Very Much Mistaken'', was published in late 2002. He had eight publishers who wanted to put out the book, and he began to compose it in early 2001. Walker negotiated payment of the book sales with the publishers

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

, and he ventured to various worldwide locations to promote it. He competed in Australia's

Targa Tasmania Targa Tasmania is a tarmac-based rally event held on the island state of Tasmania, Australia, annually since 1992. The event takes its name from the Targa Florio, a former motoring event held on the island of Sicily. The competition concept i ...

tarmac rally road race as navigator to driver

Colin Bond Colin John Bond (born 24 February 1942) is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team. He quickly found succ ...

in a Toyota Team Racing-entered Toyota Camry Sportivo in May 2003, finishing second in their class and 44th overall. Walker navigated former Grand Prix competitor

Chris Amon Christopher Arthur Amon (20 July 1943 – 3 August 2016) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One racing in the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand ...

in a Toyota Camry Sportivo at the

Targa New Zealand The Targa New Zealand is a tarmac rally held annually on public roads typically throughout the North Island of New Zealand. The main Targa each year begins in the last week of October and is a week-long event which covers around 1500 km of tour ...

that took place five months later, where they finished eighth in their class and 114th outright. In October 2005, it was announced that he would be returning to the microphone as the BBC's voice of the new

Grand Prix Masters Grand Prix Masters was a one-make motor racing series featuring retired Formula One drivers. The inaugural (and sole 2005) event, at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa, took place on 11–13 November, but the series folded after a t ...

series. After providing the commentary for the inaugural race in South Africa, in January 2006

announced that Walker would be part of their team for their coverage of subsequent races. He also conducted interviews and special features for the radio station throughout the 2006 Formula One World Championship. Years of exposure to loud engines and age-related hearing problems had left Walker with

hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to Hearing, hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to Language ...

in both ears. In 2006 he became chief ambassador for David Ormerod Hearing Centres, a high-street audiology chain that fitted his hearing aids. In March 2006, the

Honda Racing F1 The Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda has participated in Formula One, as an engine manufacturer and team owner, for various periods since 1964. Honda's involvement in Formula One began with the season, and in 1965 they achieved their fi ...

Team, formerly

British American Racing British American Racing (BAR) was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently, they formed a partnership with Honda which l ...

, announced that Walker would become its team ambassador for half of the 2006 season's 18 Grands Prix, starting with the

San Marino Grand Prix The San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was named after nearby San ...

in April. Walker welcomed Honda Racing's

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

guests and entertained them with his F1 commentary. He was

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

' commentator for their coverage of

, performed commentary duties of the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

for the Australian television broadcaster

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

in 2006 and 2007, and voiced the

Clipsal 500 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is someti ...

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

race in Adelaide. In June 2007, Walker visited the Isle of Man to celebrate the Centenary of the Isle of Man TT, and work on a DVD documentary about the event, ''TT: Centenary Celebration with Murray Walker''. In July 2007, Walker commentated on the

European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...

for BBC Radio 5 Live. This was a one-off in lieu of regular commentator David Croft who was on paternity leave. He commented on the qualifying session, the race and presented the phone-in programme ''606'' to answer listeners' questions. He and writer Philip Porter authored a book called ''Murray Walker Scrapbook'' on his memories and photographic memorabilia concerning his career with contributions from members of the Formula One community, which was published on 2 May 2008. On 28 June 2008, Walker was honoured by the people of his hometown and presented with a "Star" on the Walk of Stars on Broad Street, Birmingham. Walker became a freelance website columnist for the BBC's recovered coverage of Formula One in 2009. He voiced the part of his own character in two episodes of the

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

children's television programme ''

Roary the Racing Car ''Roary the Racing Car'' (stylised as ''ROARY: The Racing Car'') is a British-stop-motion children's television series created by David Jenkins and produced by Chapman Entertainment and Cosgrove Hall Films. It follows the adventures of Roary ...

'' in late 2009. Walker made a further appearance on the programme as a professional skateboarder the following year. In early 2011, he lent his voice as a racing commentator to the touring theatre production of ''Roary the Racing Car'' entitled ''Champion of Champions'' in an animated portion of the programme. A television documentary called ''Life in the Fast Lane'' centred on Walker's life and advertising and commentary career was broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

on 5 June 2011. In May 2013, while on holiday, he had a fall, breaking his pelvis. During treatment for the fall, Walker was diagnosed with the early stages of lymphatic system cancer. His condition was mild and treatable. In June 2013, it was reported that Walker was to receive

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

in the coming months, and had cancelled plans to attend the 2013 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Walker did not need chemotherapy anymore by July 2013. He was the guest star on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

'' on 16 March 2014, where he selected Chris McNab's ''How to Survive Anything, Anywhere: A Handbook of Survival Skills for Every Scenario and Environment'' as his choice of book, and a hammock and pillow as his luxury items. In 2015 it was announced Walker would present a new Formula One programme for

with Suzi Perry. The show called ''Formula 1 Rewind'' involved Walker looking back at some of the BBC's archives. In November 2015 he appeared on BBC's game show ''

Pointless ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to ...

'', paired with Nigel Mansell. In 2016 Walker moved with many other BBC F1 staff to

to present a series of interviews with the sport's key players. Walker also provided continuity announcements to Formula One programming and races. Walker withdrew from Channel 4's commentary for the 2018 British Grand Prix due to ill health but appeared in recorded features.

Commentary style

Walker chose to stand while commentating during races rather than sitting down, allowing him to speak louder due to his lungs being inflated and his shoulders pushed back. He was uncritical of drivers who had made errors, preferring to let that judgement pass to his co-commentators. Walker was articulate in his speech, and he was a good reader of mood after an on-track incident. He sometimes made humorous verbal errors known as "Murrayisms" that ranged from "simple misidentifications" to "lovely, labyrinthian, effortlessly complex acrobatic displays of linguistic virtuosity." According to Stephen Moss of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', they were "the hallmark of his commentary over the years" and noted that they made him "the fan who happened to have been given the keys to the commentary box: he couldn't control his enthusiasm and that seemed naturally to lead to catastrophe." Moss likened Walker's commentary voice to a "screech and resembles a 500cc engine being revved up" because he required "a harsh, aggressive, noisy, fast-moving voice" to comment on a constantly changing landscape. He prepared himself for every piece of commentary work by meticulously researching facts and statistics on every driver and race track, updating and rewriting them for the following event. George Tamayo described Walker as having an "encyclopedic" knowledge of Grand Prix racing, and one who held enough authority amongst the press that members of the Formula One community would rarely decline to be interviewed by him. Before the introduction of reliable satellite broadcast equipment, he was obliged by his superiors at the BBC to prepare for television broadcasts by venturing to a circuit two days before a race to prepare for a broadcast in London, where he would watch the day's events on a satellite feed and then commentate on it during the evening highlights programme. Walker was voted "the greatest sports commentator of all time" in a poll conducted by British sports fans in late 2009.

Personal life

Despite his love of cars, Walker never took a driving test. He was given a tank driving licence in the British Army and that was considered valid to qualify for a civilian driving licence. He married his wife Elizabeth in 1955; the couple had no children. In June 2013 Walker was diagnosed with the blood cancer

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

and underwent six months of intensive

. Walker died on 13 March 2021, aged 97. He was memorialised by the Williams team at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix, where a sticker on the car's halo featured a quote from Walker's commentary of the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix, when

secured the Drivers' Championship. The quote read:

And I've got to stop, because I've got a lump in my throat.

Bibliography

Autobiography

*''Unless I'm Very Much Mistaken'' (2002) *''Murray Walker's Formula One Heroes'' (with Simon Taylor, Virgin Books, 2011)

References

* ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1987'' (First Formula Publishing, 1987) * ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1988'' (First Formula Publishing, 1988) * ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1989'' (Hazleton, 1989) * ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1990'' (Hazleton, 1990) * ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1991'' (Hazleton, 1991) * ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1992'' (Hazleton, 1992) * ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1993'' (Hazleton, 1993) * ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1994'' (Hazleton, 1994) * ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1995'' (Hazleton, 1995) * ''Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year 1996'' (Hazleton, 1996)

Notes

References

External links

British Army Officers 1939–1945Murray's F1 Video BlogMurray Walker Agent

*
Murray Walker: Life in the fast lane
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Murray 1923 births 2021 deaths Military personnel from Birmingham, West Midlands BBC sports presenters and reporters British Army personnel of World War II British copywriters Creative directors English autobiographers English male journalists English motorsport people English sports broadcasters English television presenters Formula One journalists and reporters Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst ITV people Motorcycle trials riders Motorsport announcers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Highgate School People from Birmingham, West Midlands Royal Armoured Corps soldiers Royal Scots Greys officers Tank personnel

Early life

Career as a commentator

Later years

Commentary style

Personal life

Bibliography

Autobiography

References

See also

Notes

References

External links