Tommy Walsh, co-presenter of BBC’s Ground Force, dies aged 69

Former builder got his big break after restoring the home of a producer who was working on a precursor to the show

Tommy Walsh, the building and DIY expert who appeared on television shows including Ground Force, has died aged 69 after a long illness.

Walsh started his career as a professional builder before rising to fame alongside Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock on the popular BBC garden makeover show from 1997 to 2005.

He went on to front programmes including Clean It, Fix It and Cowboys and Angels and joined the BBC show Homes Under the Hammer in 2021, following renovation projects and attending property auctions.

Walsh’s agent, Debbie Schiesser, told the Press Association: “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.”

Walsh, from Hackney in east London, ran his own property business before his television career. He got his big break after restoring the house of a BBC producer who was working on ideas for a show that would become Ground Force.

He told the BBC in 2004: “She asked me to look at a couple of pilots. One of them was the precursor to Ground Force, called Over the Garden Wall.

“It was like watching paint dry. It was terrible.”

Walsh turned down the chance to star on the show three times, but agreed when his eight-year-old daughter told him she had made a £10 bet with a boy at school that her dad was going to be on TV.

At its peak, Ground Force attracted 12 million viewers. In one episode, the team was flown out to South Africa to work in secret on Nelson Mandela’s garden, building a pergola and water feature.

Walsh attended Parmiter’s grammar school in Bethnal Green, east London, and played football for the Old Parmiterians.

The club wrote on X: “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.”

He was married to Marie Walsh and was a father to three children: Charlotte, Natalie and Jonjo.