Standing on the Shoulders: Incredible Heroes and How They Inspire Us

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Reflecting on the way in which one of the dads, Tim, considered the question of forgiveness after his daughter’s death, Mr Walker asks: “Can you ever forgive yourself for what your daughter’s done? I think, anybody who’s lost somebody close to suicide goes through that process of guilt, anger, frustration. And it is a long process for many people to forgive themselves.” While Ms Smallman is prepared to forgive her daughters’ killer, who was acting out a satanic fantasy ( News, 9 July 2021), she positions the police officers who tried to avoid being held to account for their gross behaviour at the crime scene ( News, 10 December 2021) in a long line of white men perpetuating discrimination. “Forgiveness is a gift, but you have to be open to that gift.” WHEN the TV presenter and newsreader Dan Walker was asked by his publisher to write an autobiography, he rebuffed the request with “Who cares?” Instead, he wrote about people who found a silver lining in the darkest of clouds — and the result is Standing on the Shoulders. “I just like telling other people’s stories,” he explains. The new audiobook from the author of the bestselling Remarkable People contains a totally fresh batch of humble heroes whose actions, bravery and determination have helped shape their communities.

Never feeling drawn to a position in ministry, Mr Walker wanted a career in teaching or sports broadcasting, and famously wrote to the Match of the Day presenter Des Lynam for advice on getting into television. Mr Lynam suggested a degree in history or English, and Mr Walker later read history at Sheffield University. Work in commercial local radio led to Granada’s regional news programmes, followed by sports presenting on the BBC, then BBC Breakfast presenting, and now Channel 5. Broadcasters know that Sunday working is off limits for Mr Walker.

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Mr Walker’s favourite song is “Desperado”, by the Eagles. Beyond the piano solo that he longed to play as a child, are the lyrics revelatory about his stance on life? “‘Don’t your feet get cold in the wintertime? The sky won’t snow, and the sun won’t shine.’ It’s a long plod, life. If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us About the Author: Dan Walker was born in Crawley in West Sussex in 1977. He is a TV presenter and journalist who recently moved to become one of the faces of Channel 5. Previously he presented BBC1’s Breakfast for six years and Football Focus for twelve years. Dan’s other books are Remarkable People: Extraordinary Stories of Everyday Lives, Dan Walker’s Football Thronkersaurus: Football’s Finest Tales and Dan Walker’s Magic, Mud & Maradona: Cup Football’s Finest Tales. He lives in Sheffield with his wife, three children and Winne the dog.

WHILE being so public about faith is far from the norm in the media, Mr Walker maintains that any attempts to pigeonhole him because of his beliefs have come to nothing. “It’s a high-profile job, and I suppose they expect me to act in a certain way, or to be a certain person, or have a certain size of ego. I like it that they can’t work out why I am the way I am. Faith does determine a lot of the things I do, and the way I choose to do things. And, maybe, that’s a little bit in contrast to a lot of people who work in industry.”

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His subjects’ shared humility was another thread. “There are obvious things that resonate with me as a Christian: forgiveness, redemption, and sacrifice. There is a humility that flows through every chapter, which hits some of the tones the Christian story hits. I love talking to people who’ve been to some of the darkest places, and are permanently trying to find the light at the end of a long tunnel.” Sometimes portrayed as unapologetically out of step with secular society — he danced on Strictly Come Dancing as a six-foot lobster, as his family do not celebrate Hallowe’en, and he would have felt disingenuous in a spooky costume — are there faith issues where Mr Walker’s views have changed? Headline has acquired two new books by broadcaster and journalist Dan Walker, star of the 2021 series of “Strictly Come Dancing”, following the success of Remarkable People: Extraordinary Stories of Everyday Lives (Headline) which published in 2020 and sold 50,000 copies across all formats .

It is also a timely reminder of the goodness and positivity that drives us forward during challenging times. Suicide and its reverberations is a topic in Standing on the Shoulders, and is also close to his heart, after the loss of his friend Gary Speed, who took his own life in 2011. After completing the “3 Dads” chapter in the book, about three fathers bereaved by the suicides of their daughters, and who walked across England to raise awareness of suicide prevention, Mr Walker took a six-week break from writing. My mum and dad were very good at taking an interest in what I was up to and we’d always sit down for tea together. We often had lots of people in the house, crammed around the dinner table, but our parents were keen for the kids to be part of the conversation, too. We’d chat about serious stuff, but most of the time we’d be joking. I can only remember my dad losing his temper once. We were all arguing and throwing stuff, and he went, “Oh, would you lot stop it!” and banged a glass bottle of ketchup on the table, the contents of which went up in the air and landed on his head.As one of the UK’s leading journalists, Dan has made it his life work to focus on people who often act as the catalysts for change: the unheralded champions who frequently go without getting the recognition they deserve. I think, like any relationship, it develops over time, because now I understand more now about the complexities of things you go through. There are phases in your life where you’re sort of more entrenched in certain opinions or ways of looking at things. As you mature, you develop your way of thinking and your way of looking at not only yourself, but the outside world as well. And I think that is the route that anybody who’s a Christian would take, and I’ve always felt I’m very tolerant and understanding of other points of view and differences of opinion. It is a stark reminder of the very basic haircutting technique my mum employed for many years – a method that involved making a hole in the middle of a tablecloth and using that as the guide to trim our hair. In this case it was at a jaunty angle. Everyone in the family underwent the same tablecloth-on-your-head process. When you’re that age you’re oblivious, but for my dad, not so much.

What gets me out of bed in the morning is bringing out the best in others. I like to think I am still driven by the same things as that kid in the bad cardigan and jaunty haircut – all he wanted was to try to put a smile on people’s faces, enjoy the world around him and see if he could help everyone else enjoy it, too.Because of my faith, I don’t work Sundays. It’s not something that anyone else has to adhere to – my sister is a nurse and works on Sundays all the time – but I’ve often worked hard the other six days of the week, and I want our family to be together on that day no matter what. Also, if I didn’t do that I’d be completely consumed by my job and probably wouldn’t have been married for 21 years. There are jobs I haven’t got because of that choice, but for every door that’s closed in my face, another has opened. Taylor said: “History can be cruel and forgetful to those who do not shout about their own success or good deeds, but Dan’s new book is a beautifully written and illuminating celebration of ordinary people and the extraordinary things they do, and a timely reminder of the goodness and positivity that drives us forward during challenging times.”