Dan Walker To Become BBC's Next Match Of The Day Presenter

One of the BBC's rising stars "has moved in to pole position as a future Match of the Day presenter after "it has emerged that Football Focus presenter DAN WALKER will sit in for regular host GARY LINEKER a week on Saturday when the former England striker is absent for personal reasons," according to Ian Ladyman of the London DAILY MAIL. Walker, 35, "is highly-rated at the BBC, having come through the ranks on local TV before moving on to national prime-time slots a few years ago." Having previously worked at the Olympics, Wimbledon, The Open, Ascot and the 2010 World Cup, the Crawley Town FC fan "is seen as one of the corporation's mainstays of the future and has been presenting Football Focus since '09." Walker, however, "will not anchor the MOTD 2 highlights programme, as the devout Christian refuses to work on a Sunday." There "is no suggestion that there is any threat to Lineker's position" (DAILY MAIL, 12/5).