Dan Walker has left BBC Breakfast, after more than six years presenting the BBC ’s flagship morning programme. The 45-year-old received a fond farewell from colleagues on this morning’s show (May 17) as he left the BBC Breakfast sofa for the last time.
Walker is heading to Channel 5, where he’ll replace his fellow former BBC Breakfast host Sian Williams as the main presenter of its evening news bulletin. His deal with Channel 5 will also see him present a range of other programmes for the broadcaster.
Away from TV, Walker is known for his deep religious convictions, which have been the subject of much speculation and conjecture. So what exactly are Dan Walker’s religious beliefs - and what about his personal life?
What is Dan Walker’s religion?
Dan Walker is a practising Christian and has been since his “early teens”, by his own account. As a result, he doesn’t work on Sundays, as Sunday is the traditional Christian day of rest.
He also doesn’t celebrate Halloween. When appearing on Strictly Come Dancing last year, Walker declined to wear a Halloween costume while performing on the show’s Halloween-themed episode.
Walker has spoken publicly about his faith on a number of occasions. It was claimed that he subscribes to Young Earth creationism - which holds that the Earth and most life on it were created by God less than 10,000 years ago - but he has denied this.
This issue was the subject of some controversy when Walker was chosen to replace Bill Turnbull as BBC Breakfast host in 2016. At the time, some critics suggested his beliefs could interfere with his ability to conduct scientifically-grounded interviews on topics such as climate change.
However, Walker clarified the matter in the Mirror in an interview last year: “As a Christian, just like every Christian, Jew and Muslim, I believe that God is behind creation. But that is it.”
“I am a journalist and it is my job to ask questions. We had a creation scientist on Five Live and my second question to him was, 'How can you believe this stuff when there is so much evidence against it?'” he added.
Who is Dan Walker’s wife?
Dan Walker is married to wife Sarah, who he met while studying at Sheffield University. The couple have three children together - two daughters and a son - and still live in Sheffield.
The presenter was asked in an Instagram Q&A session last year why he didn’t share pictures of his wife on social media. He simply replied that it was because “she doesn’t want to be on social media”, joking that she was “much wiser” than himself.
