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Both Sides Now: Laughter, Grief and Everything in Between with Johnnie Walker
The story of a national treasure we won't soon forget – by the woman who knew him best.
I mention you’ve been smoking. ‘He mustn’t!’ she says, alarmed. ‘There’s so much oxygen in your house he’d explode.’ There is a funny side to this — a cartoonish Johnnie Walker DJ Explodes!
Just try not to take the house with you.
In Johnnie Walker – Both Sides Now, his devoted wife Tiggy shares the final chapter of their life the slow, painful goodbye to the man she adored. She reflects on the soaring highs of Johnnie’s legendary Radio 2 career, as they navigate the heartbreak, frustration, and strange intimacy of anticipatory grief.
This is an honest, deeply personal portrait of love and loss — a raw, life-affirming tribute to a remarkable life well-lived. With wit and unflinching clarity, Tiggy lays bare the emotional toll of caring for someone at the end of life, and the impossible task of letting go while still holding on.
Not just for those who loved Johnnie Walker — this is for anyone who’s known the tangled, messy grace of caring, grieving and loving, all the way to the final breath.
I mention you’ve been smoking. ‘He mustn’t!’ she says, alarmed. ‘There’s so much oxygen in your house he’d explode.’ There is a funny side to this — a cartoonish Johnnie Walker DJ Explodes!
Just try not to take the house with you.
In Johnnie Walker – Both Sides Now, his devoted wife Tiggy shares the final chapter of their life the slow, painful goodbye to the man she adored. She reflects on the soaring highs of Johnnie’s legendary Radio 2 career, as they navigate the heartbreak, frustration, and strange intimacy of anticipatory grief.
This is an honest, deeply personal portrait of love and loss — a raw, life-affirming tribute to a remarkable life well-lived. With wit and unflinching clarity, Tiggy lays bare the emotional toll of caring for someone at the end of life, and the impossible task of letting go while still holding on.
Not just for those who loved Johnnie Walker — this is for anyone who’s known the tangled, messy grace of caring, grieving and loving, all the way to the final breath.
309 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 11, 2025
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 30, 2025
heartfelt sad and funny in parts about tiggy last few years with johnnie walker. enjoyed the book
February 25, 2026
A long review!
Just as I knew it would, this excellent autobiography hooked me in from the first chapter. Written with the most searing honesty and love, this really is a candid account of the marriage and the death of Johnnie Walker, legendary DJ, and his wife Tiggy.
I was drawn to reading this because I myself face an end very much like Johnnie’s with IPF a real possibility due to my idiopathic hypersensitivity pneumonitis - a disease that came out of the blue at a time when I was utterly content - and because of the deterioration of my disease to stage 2 lung disease (of which stage 3 is end stage) and the presence of a fibre on my last CT, my diagnosis will become IPF - the same as Johnnie - once the fibrosis takes hold and starts to make my lungs stiff and unable to take in the oxygen it needs whilst holding onto the carbon dioxide it’s meant to exhale.
It isn’t a common disease and I’d only become aware of it via a few famous names who had it - Keith Chegwin and Katie Price’s mother Amy, whose book I have also read.
So why do I want to read about an illness and its trajectory that I myself am likely to die from? Because I like to know, I like to be educated on as many aspects as I possibly can. Plus it feels grounding to me. I almost certainly have a terminal condition but it doesn’t mean my life ends immediately. I know there are a few - actually very few - things that can help if the side effects can be tolerated and it’s enlightening to read how others accept (or not) the help available.
Unlike Johnnie and his past wild lifestyle, like Amy Price, I have always been a non-smoker, not overweight and absolutely nothing to suggest I’d get a lung disease. For both of them, the diagnosis was also a shock, but it was uplifting to me to see that life did carry on, albeit with some adaptions, and despite their declining lungs, they were still motivated.
Johnnie wrote the foreword for the book, obviously knowing he’d be gone by the time it went to publishing. Tiggy took up his story and the chapters were beautifully sorted between Now and Then - ‘Now’ being an up-to-date take on how Johnnie’s health currently was, how his mood currently was and how she struggled to do her normal household chores on top of being his carer 24 hours a day. Despite the great love they shared for one another, she was completely exhausted and at times resentful, making her worry constantly that she would drop dead from the strain and he’d end up outliving her.
‘Then’ would be a look back at their life together, from meeting, to falling in love, how he didn’t exactly treat her as she deserved to start with, Johnnie’s past wild behaviour and big mistakes, his inability to function without his life being organised and all their many parties, holidays, dinners with friends, concerts and so on. There’s enough name dropping to keep a reader satisfied and that includes throwing a few celebs under the bus for being rather up their own backsides when Tiggy was introduced to them and they looked at her like she was non-existent and how very dare she try to entertain the notion of a conversation with their very esteemed, famous selves.
These made me laugh - Tiggy has been so searingly honest in her writing and despite being a bit chalk and cheese, hers and Johnnie’s was a real soulmate love. Nonetheless, having to manhandle him into his clothes, bath him and wash his hair, get him dressed and provide all his meals, his oxygen being put on as he moved from room to room, organising last minute parties he’d requested, and having to entertain the friends who wanted to come by and visit took its toll. Taking care of a dying, sometimes crotchety and ungrateful old man, having to keep on top of the household chores including extra washing and time taken to wash and dress him, and then be expected to be a hostess with food and drinks prepared and at times dinners to cater for, the cleaning up after to be done alone and no help with anything, the poor woman became completely depleted. Sleep deprivation, round-the-clock care and the added burden of so many friends wanting to pop by took its toll very heavily to the point where she was wondering if her husband was ever going to actually die because he was still going on and she had nothing left in the tank.
She did manage to get away for some respite a few times, which Johnnie understood and encouraged, even towards the end of his life, not really knowing if he’d be alive when she returned, which sounds unthinkable to many, but she knew the quality of the time together they had left was more precious than the quantity, when she could be flustered, moody, depressed, snappy, resentful and drained.
This was a woman who’d given up her own successful career and production company in order to be Johnnie’s wife, personal assistant and eventually carer. She was trying to keep working with writing, producing and directing a short film, just so she could continue working and doing something for herself and missed her days of being independent, having a successful career with a lifestyle to match. Good food and wine, theatres, a busy social life, living the good life in London and her passion for yoga all got left behind and she found she was longing to return to it and that once the inevitable had happened, she would. The problem being, Johnnie kept outliving all his prognoses and was like the Duracell Bunny - just carrying on going. Indeed for an entire year since his first huge decline where End of Life Care had been implemented and preparations were made for him to pass imminently.
I’ve seen and experienced to a point how the demands and responsibility caring for someone who needs physical help is utterly draining and how when no gratitude is shown, it becomes a hateful duty and so despite it sounding incredibly selfish of her, her honesty makes it okay for carers to accept their limitations, reach out for help, not feel they’re being neglectful or unloving for needing some respite and ultimately for feeling locked into a world where no definite dates could be fixed, almost like living in limbo - highly frustrating for a professional and organised person such as Tiggy. So I was able to extend my empathy to her, especially because at this stage she was already grieving for the life they’d had together - full of fun and adventure.
Their love endured many challenges - Johnnie had cancer, a heart attack, a triple bypass, numerous surgeries and Tiggy herself had fought breast cancer. Their entire marriage was based on caring for one another.
Johnnie had been caught up in a newspaper’s sting which had led to him losing his job, being publicly humiliated and in debt to around £40,000. He survived rather than thrived, living in a pretty nondescript flat and he was avoiding anything addictive - fags, booze and drugs. He was able to turn on the charm and the ‘work voice’ but often he preferred time alone, including during dinner parties when rather than be an ebullient guest at the dinner table, he’d take himself off to the nearest sofa and go to sleep.
There were many things he did that frustrated her - one major issue was his return to smoking after his lung diagnosis. It was the cause of the worst arguments and in the end Tiggy had to just accept this was something he was going to do, now blatantly rather than secretly when she was out.
Johnnie’s determination to keep hosting his Sounds of the 70’s show on Radio 2 was what kept him going for so long. They set up his own recording studio in his den and he would record the show mid-week, giving his producer and tech experts the time to edit it and enhance his voice, reduce the sound of his oxygen and continue providing a great weekly show for his devoted listeners. His final show was an emotional time for many and he was inundated with cards from listeners and fans and requests for visits from many professional acquaintances and good friends. Ultimately, the final two months was a time of private normal life for him and Tiggy and they cherished that time.
Not knowing when or how he’d pass, Johnnie managed to avoid any major infections or pneumonia, which would have taken him, instead suffering a slow decline where eventually he was sleeping deeply for long periods of time until he became a little confused, had fallen and set back again. Tiggy was with him during his last moments but it was fraught and panicked and she had, by his request, phoned for an ambulance and during that conversation with the handler, realised he had stopped breathing and passed. Not quite how she had hoped it would be. His desire to request an ambulance showed the fight was in him right up until the last and rather than surrender to the moment he requested an ambulance, something Tiggy wished she’d ignored so that she could have held him closely while he took his final breaths.
A moving yet inspirational memoir of the many ups and downs of a marriage between a rock and roll, naughty, rebellious DJ and a ‘straight’ as Johnnie referred to Tiggy. He knew he needed someone like her to help him through and despite messing her about initially by seeing an ex and also cancelling their wedding when he got cold feet, she couldn’t resist their soulmate connection and their marriage made it through 22 years.
A man who knew he was ‘famous’ for his voice and yet didn’t accept he was some kind of A-lister, Johnnie was useless with money, made many impromptu purchases and left Tiggy with little financial security and a huge tax bill. But they’d had some wonderful adventures and holidays together and the book was a really true account of the man behind the voice.
An excellent read, written beautifully for anyone who listened to Johnnie’s shows or even for those who didn’t, it’s a inspirational book. For me, it gives me more insight into what ‘could’ be my future path and doesn’t scare me in the slightest. It’s so much better to have a account of someone’s journey through the disease and to see what ‘may’ lie ahead, reinforcing my belief to live each day as it comes and be grateful for all I have.
I’m really grateful to Tiggy for sharing so much in this book. She sacrificed a lot for her husband, but he gave her a spirit of adventure and a deep soulmate love she wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. A moving and fascinating peek into their life together, both good and bad…and the very bad; Tiggy knew she was putting herself up for judgement by writing it, and I am sure many would be critical of her respite breaks, including at times when he really was liable to pass at any moment, but the raw reality of her daily life helps to support the struggles of unpaid carers, on duty 24/7 and hopefully makes their daily lives more respected and understood, especially as most don’t have the finances or the support to be able to go abroad with friends, check into spas or have a second home in the city where they can retreat for some culture, peace, indulgence and rest.
Definitely a five star book for me, for personal reasons, but one I’d encourage anyone to read for its educational and entertainment value.
Just as I knew it would, this excellent autobiography hooked me in from the first chapter. Written with the most searing honesty and love, this really is a candid account of the marriage and the death of Johnnie Walker, legendary DJ, and his wife Tiggy.
I was drawn to reading this because I myself face an end very much like Johnnie’s with IPF a real possibility due to my idiopathic hypersensitivity pneumonitis - a disease that came out of the blue at a time when I was utterly content - and because of the deterioration of my disease to stage 2 lung disease (of which stage 3 is end stage) and the presence of a fibre on my last CT, my diagnosis will become IPF - the same as Johnnie - once the fibrosis takes hold and starts to make my lungs stiff and unable to take in the oxygen it needs whilst holding onto the carbon dioxide it’s meant to exhale.
It isn’t a common disease and I’d only become aware of it via a few famous names who had it - Keith Chegwin and Katie Price’s mother Amy, whose book I have also read.
So why do I want to read about an illness and its trajectory that I myself am likely to die from? Because I like to know, I like to be educated on as many aspects as I possibly can. Plus it feels grounding to me. I almost certainly have a terminal condition but it doesn’t mean my life ends immediately. I know there are a few - actually very few - things that can help if the side effects can be tolerated and it’s enlightening to read how others accept (or not) the help available.
Unlike Johnnie and his past wild lifestyle, like Amy Price, I have always been a non-smoker, not overweight and absolutely nothing to suggest I’d get a lung disease. For both of them, the diagnosis was also a shock, but it was uplifting to me to see that life did carry on, albeit with some adaptions, and despite their declining lungs, they were still motivated.
Johnnie wrote the foreword for the book, obviously knowing he’d be gone by the time it went to publishing. Tiggy took up his story and the chapters were beautifully sorted between Now and Then - ‘Now’ being an up-to-date take on how Johnnie’s health currently was, how his mood currently was and how she struggled to do her normal household chores on top of being his carer 24 hours a day. Despite the great love they shared for one another, she was completely exhausted and at times resentful, making her worry constantly that she would drop dead from the strain and he’d end up outliving her.
‘Then’ would be a look back at their life together, from meeting, to falling in love, how he didn’t exactly treat her as she deserved to start with, Johnnie’s past wild behaviour and big mistakes, his inability to function without his life being organised and all their many parties, holidays, dinners with friends, concerts and so on. There’s enough name dropping to keep a reader satisfied and that includes throwing a few celebs under the bus for being rather up their own backsides when Tiggy was introduced to them and they looked at her like she was non-existent and how very dare she try to entertain the notion of a conversation with their very esteemed, famous selves.
These made me laugh - Tiggy has been so searingly honest in her writing and despite being a bit chalk and cheese, hers and Johnnie’s was a real soulmate love. Nonetheless, having to manhandle him into his clothes, bath him and wash his hair, get him dressed and provide all his meals, his oxygen being put on as he moved from room to room, organising last minute parties he’d requested, and having to entertain the friends who wanted to come by and visit took its toll. Taking care of a dying, sometimes crotchety and ungrateful old man, having to keep on top of the household chores including extra washing and time taken to wash and dress him, and then be expected to be a hostess with food and drinks prepared and at times dinners to cater for, the cleaning up after to be done alone and no help with anything, the poor woman became completely depleted. Sleep deprivation, round-the-clock care and the added burden of so many friends wanting to pop by took its toll very heavily to the point where she was wondering if her husband was ever going to actually die because he was still going on and she had nothing left in the tank.
She did manage to get away for some respite a few times, which Johnnie understood and encouraged, even towards the end of his life, not really knowing if he’d be alive when she returned, which sounds unthinkable to many, but she knew the quality of the time together they had left was more precious than the quantity, when she could be flustered, moody, depressed, snappy, resentful and drained.
This was a woman who’d given up her own successful career and production company in order to be Johnnie’s wife, personal assistant and eventually carer. She was trying to keep working with writing, producing and directing a short film, just so she could continue working and doing something for herself and missed her days of being independent, having a successful career with a lifestyle to match. Good food and wine, theatres, a busy social life, living the good life in London and her passion for yoga all got left behind and she found she was longing to return to it and that once the inevitable had happened, she would. The problem being, Johnnie kept outliving all his prognoses and was like the Duracell Bunny - just carrying on going. Indeed for an entire year since his first huge decline where End of Life Care had been implemented and preparations were made for him to pass imminently.
I’ve seen and experienced to a point how the demands and responsibility caring for someone who needs physical help is utterly draining and how when no gratitude is shown, it becomes a hateful duty and so despite it sounding incredibly selfish of her, her honesty makes it okay for carers to accept their limitations, reach out for help, not feel they’re being neglectful or unloving for needing some respite and ultimately for feeling locked into a world where no definite dates could be fixed, almost like living in limbo - highly frustrating for a professional and organised person such as Tiggy. So I was able to extend my empathy to her, especially because at this stage she was already grieving for the life they’d had together - full of fun and adventure.
Their love endured many challenges - Johnnie had cancer, a heart attack, a triple bypass, numerous surgeries and Tiggy herself had fought breast cancer. Their entire marriage was based on caring for one another.
Johnnie had been caught up in a newspaper’s sting which had led to him losing his job, being publicly humiliated and in debt to around £40,000. He survived rather than thrived, living in a pretty nondescript flat and he was avoiding anything addictive - fags, booze and drugs. He was able to turn on the charm and the ‘work voice’ but often he preferred time alone, including during dinner parties when rather than be an ebullient guest at the dinner table, he’d take himself off to the nearest sofa and go to sleep.
There were many things he did that frustrated her - one major issue was his return to smoking after his lung diagnosis. It was the cause of the worst arguments and in the end Tiggy had to just accept this was something he was going to do, now blatantly rather than secretly when she was out.
Johnnie’s determination to keep hosting his Sounds of the 70’s show on Radio 2 was what kept him going for so long. They set up his own recording studio in his den and he would record the show mid-week, giving his producer and tech experts the time to edit it and enhance his voice, reduce the sound of his oxygen and continue providing a great weekly show for his devoted listeners. His final show was an emotional time for many and he was inundated with cards from listeners and fans and requests for visits from many professional acquaintances and good friends. Ultimately, the final two months was a time of private normal life for him and Tiggy and they cherished that time.
Not knowing when or how he’d pass, Johnnie managed to avoid any major infections or pneumonia, which would have taken him, instead suffering a slow decline where eventually he was sleeping deeply for long periods of time until he became a little confused, had fallen and set back again. Tiggy was with him during his last moments but it was fraught and panicked and she had, by his request, phoned for an ambulance and during that conversation with the handler, realised he had stopped breathing and passed. Not quite how she had hoped it would be. His desire to request an ambulance showed the fight was in him right up until the last and rather than surrender to the moment he requested an ambulance, something Tiggy wished she’d ignored so that she could have held him closely while he took his final breaths.
A moving yet inspirational memoir of the many ups and downs of a marriage between a rock and roll, naughty, rebellious DJ and a ‘straight’ as Johnnie referred to Tiggy. He knew he needed someone like her to help him through and despite messing her about initially by seeing an ex and also cancelling their wedding when he got cold feet, she couldn’t resist their soulmate connection and their marriage made it through 22 years.
A man who knew he was ‘famous’ for his voice and yet didn’t accept he was some kind of A-lister, Johnnie was useless with money, made many impromptu purchases and left Tiggy with little financial security and a huge tax bill. But they’d had some wonderful adventures and holidays together and the book was a really true account of the man behind the voice.
An excellent read, written beautifully for anyone who listened to Johnnie’s shows or even for those who didn’t, it’s a inspirational book. For me, it gives me more insight into what ‘could’ be my future path and doesn’t scare me in the slightest. It’s so much better to have a account of someone’s journey through the disease and to see what ‘may’ lie ahead, reinforcing my belief to live each day as it comes and be grateful for all I have.
I’m really grateful to Tiggy for sharing so much in this book. She sacrificed a lot for her husband, but he gave her a spirit of adventure and a deep soulmate love she wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. A moving and fascinating peek into their life together, both good and bad…and the very bad; Tiggy knew she was putting herself up for judgement by writing it, and I am sure many would be critical of her respite breaks, including at times when he really was liable to pass at any moment, but the raw reality of her daily life helps to support the struggles of unpaid carers, on duty 24/7 and hopefully makes their daily lives more respected and understood, especially as most don’t have the finances or the support to be able to go abroad with friends, check into spas or have a second home in the city where they can retreat for some culture, peace, indulgence and rest.
Definitely a five star book for me, for personal reasons, but one I’d encourage anyone to read for its educational and entertainment value.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2026
The moving story of the rise to fame of DJ Johnnie Walker and his sad decline through a debilitating illness, as told by his wife Tiggy.
JW was one of the most respected and loved of the original "Pirate" DJs and Tiggy tells his story, the triumphs and lows, with dedication and love.
it is an amazing story of resistance to Authority, belief in his own abilities and not taking himself too seriously!
Tiggy was the "straight" who met, fell in love and married the "Rebel".
I was a big fan and this book is dedicated to his many admirers/listeners and they will not be disappointed.
Nothing is taboo, and the description of his illness and untimely death will leave you exhausted and amazed how both Tiggy and Johnnie defied the odds for so long.
A remarkable life beautifully told by the person who knew him best.
JW was one of the most respected and loved of the original "Pirate" DJs and Tiggy tells his story, the triumphs and lows, with dedication and love.
it is an amazing story of resistance to Authority, belief in his own abilities and not taking himself too seriously!
Tiggy was the "straight" who met, fell in love and married the "Rebel".
I was a big fan and this book is dedicated to his many admirers/listeners and they will not be disappointed.
Nothing is taboo, and the description of his illness and untimely death will leave you exhausted and amazed how both Tiggy and Johnnie defied the odds for so long.
A remarkable life beautifully told by the person who knew him best.
November 10, 2025
A wonderful love story. It took me ages to read as I kept having to put it down due to crying so much. RIP - a great man 💔.
November 25, 2025
Really enjoyed it, used to love hearing Johnnie on Sounds of the 70s so it was good to read more about him but also how hard caring can be.
January 21, 2026
This is a book full of emotions. Very honest from Tiggy Walker, the wife of Johnnie. I was dreading the end, but, Tiggy put it all across remarkably well.
March 22, 2026
You could feel the frustration for Tiggy who desperately wants this all to stop for both her and Jonny but in equal measures doesn’t want to let him go. A sad but beautiful love story ❤️
March 24, 2026
Very open and honest account of her last few years / months / days with Johnnie Walker - emotional at times ? Yes . Well put together /? Yes.
April 15, 2026
Have been a fan of Johnnie since his pirate days and also follow the lovely Tiggy. I loved the style of her writing and their great love shone through always.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews