Bradley Walsh has not died

Several posts online have claimed that actor and TV presenter Bradley Walsh has died. 

However, Mr Walsh’s agent told Full Fact the claim is false, and confirmed that Mr Walsh is “alive and well”.

As others have pointed out, the claim seems to have started in a TikTok video posted around 27 January, which now appears to have been deleted or removed from the platform. 

The video received over 10,000 likes on TikTok. It was posted by an account which seems to have used the BBC News logo as its profile picture, with the display name “BBC News”. The video appeared to mimic the branding of the BBC News channel, with the BBC logo in the top left corner and on a banner that also featured the text “Bradley Walsh dies aged 63”. 

While the original post is no longer visible, it appears that at least one other TikTok account has shared the same video. This clip contains a still of Mr Walsh, along with the branding visible in the original, and features the voice of a woman stating: “Has died at the age of 63. That is all the information that we’re getting at the moment, shocking news there that at the age of 63. We’re hoping to get more reaction to this news and further information regarding the circumstances surrounding this news that is coming to us”. 

We’ve also seen numerous accounts posting condolence messages and referencing his apparent death on Facebook.

However, Mr Walsh has not died. His agent, Debi Allen of agency Curtis Brown, told Full Fact on 29 January that Mr Walsh is “alive and well”. 

Posts that falsely claim public figures or known individuals have died, when they are in fact still alive, are common online. We’ve written about several of these claims before. False or misleading claims online have the potential to harm individuals and groups. Online claims can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct. 

Image courtesy of Solen Feyissa.