'Observing the Lord's day is a great privilege', says TV presenter

A television presenter, who is to become the new host of BBC Breakfast, has described how his Christian faith informed his decision never to work on Sundays.

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A television presenter, who is to become the new host of BBC Breakfast, has described how his Christian faith informed his decision never to work on Sundays.

Dan Walker, who presents BBC1’s Football Focus, is to replace current BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull.

The 38-year-old revealed that when he became a TV presenter, he struck a deal with the BBC that he would be free to observe Sundays as a day of rest.

Of his choice to set aside Sunday as a day of rest, Mr Walker said in 2010:

"I was convinced that it was the right thing to honour God and follow his commandments. Observing the Lord’s Day is a great privilege and brings with it loads of blessings."

Honouring God through conduct

Mr Walker, the son of a Baptist preacher, said that he also takes care to honour God in his behaviour on air, for example by not swearing or taking the Lord’s name in vain.

He admitted that holding to biblical principles and refusing to work on Sundays at first made it difficult to find a job as a football presenter, with some interviewers believing he was "stupid".

"Over the course of about eighteen months I had six or seven interviews for a new job," he said.

"Each interview would follow a pattern: I would be asked about my attitude and enthusiasm, the awards I had won at Key 103, and my plans for the future.

"Then the Sunday issue came up and things went downhill. At each interview I explained that I wouldn’t work on a Sunday. I was convinced that it was the right thing to honour God and follow his commandments, but I was also helping myself by having a day of rest and showing others that there was something more important than football or work in my life."

'Jesus deserves the best of my time and energy'

"My Saviour, Jesus Christ, deserves the very best of my time and energy," he went on.

"And observing the Lord’s Day is a great privilege and brings with it loads of blessings. Some of the greatest of God’s promises — for example, about knowing the glory of God, enjoying him and receiving blessing from him - go hand in hand with the idea of the Sabbath.

"Some of the interviewers thought I was stupid, some felt sorry for me and some said they wished me the best for the future but that there was no way they could employ me."

Despite these setbacks, Mr Walker was eventually hired by the BBC in 2009, and will replace Bill Turnbull at the end of the month.

"It is an honour to be given this opportunity," he said.

Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of Christian Concern, commented:

"Here is a wonderful example of God honouring those who honour him by abiding by his pattern of rest, which has been set out for us in the scriptures".

You can read more about Dan Walker’s story of coming to faith, his passion for sport and how he honours Christ in the workplace, in the book Every One a Winner: True Stories of Changed Lives from the World of Sport.