Dan Walker, a familiar face on television for many years, began his TV journey with Granada Television as a commentator in 2003 before joining the team at BBC's North West Tonight in 2004.

In 2009, he assumed the role of host for Football Focus on BBC One and later became the morning host on BBC Breakfast, sharing the screen with Louise Minchin until her exit, and briefly co-starring with Sally Nugent.

His departure from the iconic red sofa came as a shock to loyal viewers who had been tuning in daily to watch him for over ten years.

It was announced that Dan would be embarking on new ventures, having secured the position of lead anchor on 5 News.

Tonight, the renowned newsreader returns to our screens, this time venturing into uncharted territory. He will feature in Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row, which will be broadcast on Channel 5 from 9pm, reports Bristol Live.

With considerable anticipation surrounding tonight's episode, where Dan will confront a double-murderer, it's hard not to recall his notable exit from BBC Breakfast, as well as an on-air conversation that resulted in him receiving death threats.

In April 2022, Dan broke the hearts of viewers nationwide when he announced on platform X, previously known as Twitter, that he would be stepping down from his role as co-anchor on BBC Breakfast.

He announced his departure from the show after 13 years, lured away by an attractive offer from another broadcasting heavyweight-an offer he found irresistible.

At the time of his announcement, Dan expressed: "It's always been my dream to do a job like this. It feels a bit surreal I won't be sitting on the sofa anymore."

Back in the year 2020, which was two years before Dan made his decision to leave BBC Breakfast, he and co-host Louise Minchin invited One Direction star Louis Tomlinson for an interview to discuss the singer's life events.

Accoring to the popstar, he had explicitly stated beforehand that he wished not to receive questions regarding his late mother and sister.

Louis was navigating through his grief of his mother who had succumbed to cancer in 2016, and his sister Felicite tragically passed away due to an accidental drug overdose in 2019.

Following the interview, Louis voiced to his followers, "Defo won't be going on there again," hinting at his discontent. Dan addressed the celebrity's distress on social media, questioning what had upset him.

Louis then explained to Dan: "I was upset that you continued to ask me about my grief. It goes without saying how hard it is to lose both people so close to me. The least I ask is that you respect my decision of not wanting to be asked in interviews about something so painful."

"I'm lucky enough to have a creative outlet for me to talk about grief. This doesn't, however, give you the right to talk about it for gossip purposes."

Following his interview with Louis, Dan was left puzzled by the singer's displeasure regarding a question about his grief. On the Gold Minds podcast with former Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill, he revealed that he had received death threats after the on-air conversation with the One Direction star.

The broadcaster defended his line of questioning about Louis' loss, pointing out that they had cleared the topic with the singer's management before the live broadcast.

Dan recounted the incident to Jessica, saying: "I used to get weird death threats from people. I did an interview with Louis Tomlinson once and I asked him what was a perfectly legitimate question about the death of his mum, and we'd already said to his people that we would ask that, and he took it badly, and wasn't happy with it."

He continued, detailing the intense reaction from fans: "You know what it's like with One Direction, there were thousands and thousands of messages coming every 10 minutes. I think five people threatened to kill me that day."

Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row, with the programme airing on Channel 5 from 9pm