Gary Lineker snapped up by ITV after BBC exit
GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND, AUG 5 – Gary Lineker will host ITV's new celebrity game show The Box, featuring 12 contestants facing challenges inside boxes, following his BBC departure amid controversy.
- Gary Lineker, a former England footballer and long-time Match of the Day host, left the BBC in May 2025 amid controversy over a social media post.
- His departure followed accusations of antisemitism after reposting a video with a rat emoji, which Lineker apologized for and said he removed promptly.
- ITV, having sought to work with Lineker for some time, signed him to present The Box, a celebrity game show set to film in autumn and air early spring 2026.
- The Box, a popular format in Norway featuring celebrities completing challenges inside separate boxes, is seen by ITV as a strong successor to Saturday Night Takeaway.
- Lineker's move to ITV marks a new chapter, with the broadcaster confident they secured a valuable talent following his BBC exit under pressured circumstances.
51 Articles
51 Articles
Gary Lineker unshackled himself from the BBC - and immediately wasted his freedom
It’s all our fault, of course, “us”, the viewers. We seem to like our game shows, and so television avails us with so very many of them, on our screens day and night. So obsessed have “we” become with the format that ITV now has its own specialist channel, ITV Quiz, essentially umpteen hours of Bradley Walsh a day, with an amouse bouche of Stephen Mulhern every so often.And now here comes Gary Lineker, recent ITV star signing, and immediately ap…
Lineker to move to ITV after BBC antisemitism row
Well, well, well. After quitting the Beeb amid an antisemitism storm, it transpires that Gary Lineker has been picked up by none other than rival broadcaster ITV. The left-wing right-back will reportedly present a new Saturday night show called The Box, which will see a group of people, possibly celebrities, undergo a series of challenges
Gary Lineker Lands First Post-BBC Presenting Job On ITV Reality Show ‘The Box’
Following his exit from the BBC, Gary Lineker has found a new presenting UK gig. We understand the broadcaster has signed on to front ITV’s upcoming reality show The Box, in which contestants exit yellow boxes in random locations to compete in games they know nothing about. The Sun was first to report the news. […]
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