Gary Lineker has been shortlisted for the National Television award for best TV presenter, a few months after his exit from the BBC’s Match Of The Day.
The former footballer will compete against Ant and Dec, who have won the prize for 23 years in a row.
Lineker exited the BBC’s flagship football show in May after 26 years, following a row over him sharing a social media post about Zionism. The post featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult.
He issued an unreserved apology over the post, as it was confirmed he would leave his role early at the BBC, where he was its highest paid on-air presenter, and would no longer front coverage of the 2026 World Cup or next season’s FA Cup.
This month it was announced that he had signed up to present a new ITV gameshow called The Box, which will be filmed in the UK later this year and air in 2026.
During his BBC career, Lineker’s social media posts repeatedly led to criticism of the broadcaster. In 2023, he compared the then Conservative government’s rhetoric around immigration to that used in Germany in the 1930s. His suspension led to colleagues walking out in solidarity and a Match of the Day without any commentary or analysis. The BBC toughened its impartiality guidelines for presenters.
He was among 500 film, TV and other media professionals calling on the BBC to reinstate a documentary on children and young people living in Gaza. It was removed from the BBC’s iPlayer after it emerged that the film’s 14-year-old narrator was the son of a deputy agriculture minister in the territory’s Hamas-run government.
Amid the final row over the Zionism post, an interview with Lineker was published in which he warned BBC bosses there could be more controversial moments to navigate between now and the next World Cup. “You either have empathy or you don’t,” Lineker said. “I’ll definitely continue pushing humanitarian issues.”
Lineker and Ant and Dec will compete for the television presenter prize against Alison Hammond, best known for her appearances on This Morning and The Great British Bake Off; The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman; and Sort Your Life Out presenter Stacey Solomon.
The NTAs will be held at the O2 in London on 10 September and televised by ITV.
With PA Media
