David Kid Jensen goes public with Parkinson’s

Radio presenter David Kid Jensen has been living with Parkinson’s for the last five years, he has announced.

The Kid has worked at many big stations during his career, including BBC Radio 1, Capital, Heart, Planet Rock and Smooth Radio. He currently broadcasts on BBC Local Radio and presents a weekend show – Kid Jensen’s Flashback 40 for the Wireless Gorup’s local stations. He continues his role as Chairman of the Crystal Palace FC Vice Presidents.

He’s well known in commercial radio for his time hosting the Network Chart show across the independent radio network in the 80s and 90s.

Discussing his condition, David Jensen commented: “I have decided to go public to raise awareness about Parkinson’s and to demonstrate that it is possible to continue with so many aspects of one’s life. When Billy Connolly and my old colleague, Sky Sports’ Dave Clark announced they had Parkinson’s and started to raise funds for Parkinson’s charities, I felt it was time for me, with the support of my friends and family to reveal my situation. I hope to be available to try and raise further awareness of Parkinson’s and to be on hand to aid fundraising activities. Parkinson’s is a neurological condition that causes problems in the brain and over time gets worse with no cure yet discovered.

“I am so appreciative of the support I have received from my wife Gudrun, who I have been married to for 43 wonderful years, my 3 children and 7 grandchildren, who are all aware that I have Parkinson’s and continue to provide so much love, support and understanding.”

David ‘Kid’ Jensen, 67, who was born Canada, has been a household name in the UK since making his European broadcasting debut when he joined Radio Luxembourg in 1968, acquired the nickname ‘Kid’ as he was the youngest radio presenter in Europe at the time. By the mid-seventies he was a regular on TV hosting several pop music programmes on ITV as well as broadcasting on Nottingham’s Radio Trent. Since that time he has hosted shows on major radio stations including BBC Radio 1, Capital Radio, Heart, Planet Rock, Smooth along with many TV appearances including Top of the Pops where he struck up a great partnership with John Peel.

During a lengthy career which has seen him receive broadcasting awards in the UK, Canada and the USA, he has championed acts like The Smiths, The Police, Pretenders, The Clash, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Thin Lizzy, The Cure, Simple Minds and many more. He also presented the very first Network Chart Show – the UK’s first syndicated radio show broadcast on commercial radio throughout the UK. For many years David wrote weekly entertainment columns for national newspapers including The Daily Mirror, Sunday People and Today, contributed columns to The Telegraph, The Guardian and the NME, was a news anchor for Turner Broadcasting and Superstation WTBS Atlanta – a forerunner to CNN and fronted motor racing coverage for broadcasters including Sky Sports.