Alan Titchmarsh has led tributes to Tommy Walsh after the former Ground Force co-star died on Monday at the age of 69. Titchmarsh, 77, fronted the BBC garden makeover series with Walsh and fellow gardening expert Charlie Dimmock in the late 1990s and early 2000s and was among the first to pay tribute.
Titchmarsh said: "Working with Tommy Walsh on Ground Force was a delight - whether we were arguing over the ratio of plants to decking, battling clouds of sawdust that threatened to engulf my plants or collapsing in fits of giggles thanks to a chance remark. Sometimes we only had to glance at one another to become convulsed with laughter and totally lose the plot."
He added: "The five years I worked with Tommy and Charlie on that literally ground-breaking programme were among the happiest of my life. He was a force of nature and I shall miss his company and his merciless teasing of 'Mr T'. He was a complete one-off."
Club and agent pay tribute
Non-league football team Old Parmiterians, who Walsh once played for, also spoke out following the news. The club wrote: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tommy Walsh. A Parmiters boy he played for the club for many years in goal but made a great career as a TV personality in shows such as Ground Force. He will be sorely missed. RIP Tommy"
Walsh's death was confirmed by his agent Debbie Schiesser, who said: "Tommy died peacefully after a long illness surrounded by his family. As this has only just happened, we would ask everyone to please respect the family's privacy."
Career and health battles
Walsh worked on Ground Force, which was one of the biggest shows of its time, pulling in 12 million viewers at its peak, and was a fixture on the show from 1997 until 2005. He most recently appeared on BBC makeover show Clean It, Fix It hosted by Mark Wright, which ended last year, and had also enjoyed a presenting stint on Homes Under the Hammer. He appeared on episodes of Celebrity Fit Club, Pointless and Blankety Blank.
Walsh, a dad of three, faced cancer in the years leading up to his death. In 2002, he discovered two lumps in his chest. Given that breast cancer ran in his family - both his sister and aunt had fought the illness - he immediately sought medical advice. The lumps proved to be non-cancerous and were successfully removed.
In 2022, Walsh discovered his own cancer diagnosis while participating in a cancer awareness initiative. Following a consultation with his GP, doctors found a malignant lump in his throat which was later removed. He said at the time: "I went to my GP about an unrelated issue, and while I was there, he discovered this lump in my throat that he was a bit concerned about."
He added: "He said it may be nothing, but that he would rather I went and got it checked, and, unfortunately, it turned out to be cancerous. I had to go in straight away and have surgery to remove it. I am now fully recovered and even back playing football!"
Later diagnosis and treatment
However, Walsh disclosed in late 2023 that he was facing another health battle - lung cancer. He broke the news to attendees at a charity event in November, explaining that doctors had found a "three-centimetre tumour in the lung".
Walsh said: "I have an emergency appointment at 9am tomorrow morning back in London. I had a chest infection, had to go to the doctor, and they sent me up to the hospital for a CT scan, and they think there's a three-centimetre tumour in the lung."
He added: "I've tried to keep cheerful, and you've cheered me up today, and thank you for letting me reminisce and talk. I was weighing up whether or not to tell you about this, but I felt it would be unfair if I were to leave this and I didn't tell you."
In June 2024, Walsh shared positive news, revealing that the tumour was "shrinking" due to new treatment, saying: "I am healthy." He told the Mirror: "I had to have this new treatment called SABR, and what it is is radiotherapy which targets it to an exact spot without damaging the organs around it. So they used that, and it shrank."
He added: "It is now not anywhere else. It is going away. Because it is shrinking, it will shrink down to nothing and disappear. I will then just have to have annual checks. It has worked for me really well. The SABR treatment has worked, and I am healthy, so I have not been in any pain."
