BBC Radio 2 DJ Johnnie Walker has blasted the “age of celebrity” as he signs off on his final show on the station.

The veteran broadcaster has recorded the final episode of his show Sounds of the 70s, ending a 58-year radio career.

But in his farewell message, the DJ criticized the number of TV stars now taking to the airwaves, to the detriment of talent rising through the ranks of local channels.

He told Radio 4’s Today programme: “Before, you were always learning your radio craft.

“Nowadays it seems the best way to get a radio show is to first get one on television. Because you’re good at television doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be good at radio. But that’s how it is. We are in the age of celebrity.

Johnnie Walker in 2004. The BBC DJ has signed his latest show Sounds of the 70s on Radio 2, which will be broadcast on Sunday.

Mr Walker with his wife Tiggy. The DJ, who is terminally ill, has streamed several of his recent shows from his home in Dorset.

He added that he had “mixed emotions” about ending his career, with the moment being “mostly one of sadness”.

He also paid tribute to his many fans, saying: “I get cards from people saying, ‘You’re a friend I never met.’ It will be sad to say goodbye.

The 79-year-old has just weeks to live after battling idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rare, progressive disease that affects the respiratory system.

Mr Walker signed his final episode of BBC Radio 2’s The Rock Show on Friday, in which he “prefers rock anthems”, starting with Sweet Jane by Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner and Lou Reed.

The Rock Show will be taken over by Shaun Keaveny from November 1st.

For his latest Sounds of the 70s show on Sunday, he chose his favorite tunes instead of the usual listener requests.

Born in Birmingham, the DJ started in pirate radio at Swinging Radio England in 1966, before joining Radio Caroline.

He first joined the company at BBC Radio 1 in 1969. In 1976 he moved to San Francisco to record a weekly show on Radio Luxembourg.

He returned to the BBC in the early 1980s, where he has remained until the present. In recent years he has broadcast from his home in Dorset.

Mr. Walker also used his shows to play lesser-known, riskier tracks, such as American singer Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side, produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson and featuring lyrics about gender-switching.

The BBC presenter said he chooses a record each week to challenge the radio narrative of the time.

Mr Walker started out in pirate radio before joining the BBC in 1969.

Walker at Buckingham Palace in 2006 to receive an MBE for services to broadcasting

He said: “Walk on the Wild Side was perfect. There wasn’t much gender swapping going on in Bromley, where most of the producers seemed to live, so it went a bit over their heads.

“Years later, it became a success. It was just an awesomely cool record.

Reed would guest on Mr. Walker’s Drivetime show several years later.

The DJ recalls: “He (Reed) said, ‘My career was in the trash. I made a bad album. Then I made another album and DJs in Europe started playing “Walk on the Wild Side” over and over again. “I said it was me.

“He said ‘Oh, so it was you, Johnnie Walker.’ You’re the one paying my rent after all these years.”