Tommy Walsh (born 18 December 1956), is an English television personality, presenter and celebrity builder best known for the gardening and

do-it-yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

television shows ''

Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...

'' (1997–2005) and ''Challenge Tommy Walsh''.

Biography

Educated at

Parmiter's School Parmiter's School is a co-educational state comprehensive school with academy status in Garston, Hertfordshire, close to the outskirts of North West London, England with a long history. Although the school admits pupils of all abilities it is ...

, then a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

, Walsh became a builder and first came to public attention after appearing in the

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

gardening programme ''

'' with Alan Titchmarsh, responsible for the hard landscaping. He stayed with the show for the rest of its run, from 1997 to 2005. Walsh had a small acting role in the film ''One''.Chamberlain, Zoe (2004
"Ground Force Tommy Lands Killer Film Role"
''

Sunday Mercury ''Sunday Mercury'' is a Sunday tabloid published in Birmingham, UK, and now owned by Reach plc. The first edition was published on 29 December 1918. The first editor was John Turner Fearon (1869–1937), who left the Dublin-based ''Freeman's ...

'', 31 October 2004 He has also appeared on Lily Savage's ''

Blankety Blank ''Blankety Blank'' is a British comedy game show which started in 1979 and is still running today, albeit with some sizeable gaps. The original series ran from 18 January 1979 to 12 March 1990 on BBC1, hosted first by Terry Wogan from 1979 un ...

''.

Personal life

Walsh lives in

South Hackney South Hackney is an area of Hackney in London, England within the Borough of Hackney. It is about northeast of Charing Cross. The Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy on the corner of Victoria Park Road and Lammas Walk utilises the buildings of ...

, with his wife and three children.Anstead, Mark (2010)
Tommy Walsh: 'I borrowed from friends to save my father from repossession'
, ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', 14 May 2010, retrieved 2010-08-27 In addition to his television work, he runs his own building business and writes books on

and garden improvement. He also has his own DIY brand that is sold in

Poundland Poundland is a British variety store chain founded in 1990. It once sold most items at the single price of £1, including Closeout (sale), clearance items and proprietary brands. The first Pilot (experiment), pilot store opened in December 19 ...

shops in the UK. He is patron of the Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust, and is the subject of the song "Tommy Walsh's Eco House" on the 2011 album ''

90 Bisodol (Crimond) ''90 Bisodol (Crimond)'' is the twelfth studio album by UK rock band Half Man Half Biscuit. It was released on 26 September 2011 by Probe Plus. The inner sleeve includes a modified version of the painting ''Christ's Entry into Jerusalem'' by ...

'' by the band

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...

Television work

Walsh has presented several Television shows, including: * ''Challenge Tommy Walsh'' (with

Alan Herd Alan Herd is a British artisan, a specialist woodworker and TV presenter of hobby and restoration projects often screened on Discovery Real Time TV channels. A native of Hickling, a village in south Nottinghamshire near to Melton Mowbray and ...

) * ''Space Invaders'' * ''Tommy Walsh's Eco House'' * ''Trading Places'' * ''Tommy's Ultimate Workshop'' * ''Tommy's DIY Survival'' * ''The Reclaimers'' * ''

'' * ''Our House'' * ''Fix Your House For Free'' * ''

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...

'' * ''Flip That House with Tommy Walsh'' * ''My Life as a DIY Nutter'' (Channel 5) * ''Cowboys & Angels'' (BBC) * ''Me and my son Greg'' (2017) * ''

Homes Under the Hammer ''Homes Under the Hammer'' is a British factual renovation and auction television series that is screened on BBC One as part of the morning schedule. The series has been running since 17 November 2003, and is currently presented by Martin Robe ...

'' * ''Clean It, Fix It''

Publications

*''Ground Force: Practical Garden Projects'' (2000), BBC Books *''Ground Force: Garden Handbook'' (2001), BBC Books - with

Alan Titchmarsh Alan Fred Titchmarsh HonFSE (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, broadcaster, TV presenter, poet, and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through a ...

and

Charlie Dimmock Charlotte Elouise Dimmock (born 10 August 1966) is an English gardening expert and television presenter. She was a member of the team on ''Ground Force'', a BBC gardening makeover programme, airing from 1997 to 2005. Since then, Dimmock has pr ...

*''Tommy Walsh's DIY Guide'' (2001), Focus Multimedia Ltd - CD-ROM *''Basic DIY'' (2002), Collins *''DIY Survival'' (2002), Collins *''Bathroom DIY'' (2004), Collins *''Kitchen DIY'' (2004), Collins *''Living Spaces DIY'' (2004), Collins *''Outdoor DIY'' (2004), Collins

References

External links

UKTV Gardens profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Tommy 1956 births Living people English television presenters English people of Irish descent People from South Hackney People educated at Parmiter's School, London