Gary Lineker to join ITV as host of celebrity game show
Gary Lineker will return to television at ITV just four months after leaving the BBC in a high-profile antisemitism row sparked by a social media post.
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Lineker, 64, hosted BBC’s flagship football programme Match of the Day for over 25 years, but has now joined competitors ITV to host a celebrity game show named ‘The Box’.
The England and Tottenham legend quit the BBC after being accused of “anti-semitism” for sharing a video titled “Zionism explained in two minutes” online.
The video included an illustration of a rat, which has been used by antisemites to represent Jewish people in propaganda for decades.
In the wake of the allegations, Lineker "apologised unreservedly" for posting the video as he defended his decision to “speak out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza."
The new game show is based on a Norwegian programme of the same name. The show sees 12 celebrities put in boxes and forced to complete a set of challenges.
It will air on Saturday nights, according to reports.
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A source told The Sun: “The Box is massive in Norway, and the rights were quickly sold to Denmark and now the UK. ITV are really excited about it — and believe they have finally found a worthy successor to Saturday Night Takeaway.
“They have long been sniffing around Gary and just needed to find the right format for him. They’re confident they’ve found that now, and the BBC’s loss is their gain.”
Saturday Night Takeaway, the long-running game show hosted by Ant and Dec, ended earlier this year after more than 22 years.
A TV insider told the newspaper: “The scheduling hasn’t yet been confirmed but filming takes place in the autumn, and the series is due to air early spring. It looks likely to get a Saturday-night slot though, but obviously it’s all still to play for.”
Lineker was the BBC’s highest-paid presenter for the last eight years, and the longest-running Match of the Day host.
As a result of his early departure from the broadcaster, the England legend lost out on an estimated £800,000.
But just last week, he claimed his departure was a case of "quit or be quitted".
When asked if his departure from the corporation was "of his own volition, or a case of quit or be quitted,” Lineker replied "the latter", during an interview with The New World, formerly known as The New European.
Speaking about his departure, Lineker said: "That's what changed after that. I made a mistake and I immediately took it down and apologised, which I thought should have been enough."
He went on to say that he believed he had complied with the BBC's impartiality rules as he had looked at the war in Gaza "without a vested interest".
Lineker added: "I've got no skin in the game. I'm not Muslim, I'm not Palestinian, I'm not Israeli, I'm not Jewish. I come from a place of complete impartiality. And then it becomes about truth.
"People talked about me being antisemitic. I'm not anti-any group of people. Any race, any colour. But I am anti the killing of children."
The former England striker went on to say he did not blame director-general Tim Davie for his exit, adding: "Tim Davie I know and I get on well with. I know how difficult it is for him with what's going on.
"Do I dislike people at the BBC? Not the people that I know."
At the time of Lineker's departure, Davie said in a statement that the pair "agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season", after the former presenter "acknowledged the mistake he made".
Davie added: "Gary has been a defining voice in football coverage for the BBC for over two decades. His passion and knowledge have shaped our sports journalism and earned him the respect of sports fans across the UK and beyond. We want to thank him for the contribution he has made."
In his own statement, Lineker said that "stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action".
The ex-Barcelona player went on to say in The New World interview that he has toned down his use of social media following the incident.
He explained: "Social media's changed a lot. People say to me 'when did you start having a view on things?', and I say 'well I've always had a view but social media gave me the platform'.
"Perhaps I wish it hadn't. I've come off X completely. I only use it to promote a podcast now. It's just become horrible. Nasty."
Lineker also runs Goalhanger Podcasts which produces podcasts such as The Rest Is Football, The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics, and The Rest Is Entertainment, and the Leicester-born star revealed in the interview that his company would soon produce a science podcast.
The Rest Is Football podcast, which Lineker presents alongside former footballers Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, moved from the BBC to British internet sports streaming platform DAZN following Lineker's BBC exit.