'It left me in tears and I need to stop - I don't want to be thought of as the old guy who made mistakes'
Lee Mottershead spends time with the legendary Derek Thompson ahead of his final shift in a British commentary box
The person remains indistinguishable from the persona.
As he prepares to call the opening race at Catterick, Derek Thompson is still very much Tommo. The laughter, enthusiasm and catchphrases are there in abundance. He continues to be a workaholic, notoriously careful with money and happy to embrace his reputation for being a real-life homage to Alan Partridge. He is what he has always been, yet although we thought he would never change, he has, if only a little.
With his 75th birthday approaching on July 31, Thompson has admitted to himself that he cannot do all he used to do, certainly not to the same standard. Some things are harder than they used to be, which explains why the end of his 60-year commentary career in Britain is now nigh. When he signs off for the final time at Wolverhampton on Tuesday it will also mark the end of Tommo on the telly. The story is not over but important chapters are coming to an end.
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