'I've got so much nervous excitement'- Jeff Stelling tells Graham Norton about joining talkSPORT

Virgin Radio

3 Dec 2023, 15:44

Jeff Stelling is joining the talkSPORT Breakfast show as their new presenter alongside Ally McCoist.

The Football Pundit legend joined the Graham Norton Show with Waitrose this morning to talk about his new job and how nervous he was to start despite his years of experience.

Jeff begins his new position tomorrow morning (4th December), and it looks like he won't be getting much sleep before that 4:30am alarm.

He told Graham: "I've got so much nervous excitement at the moment. So, tonight is going to be a pretty normal night. I've got to do a bit of research by watching Match of the Day and see what's happened in today's games."

It's fair to say this isn't Jeff's first rodeo when it comes to presenting on the radio. In fact, his first ever broadcasting job was a reporter position on Radio Tees in the 70s.

Reflecting on how he started a career in sports reporting, Jeff said: "I started as a news reporter, and by chance, on the first Saturday that I had been there, I got a message from my boss saying 'The Middlesbrough football reporter has been taken ill. Go to Elland Road and report on Leeds against Middlesbrough, which was the top division game in the town, but a local Darby as well.

"And I didn't have a clue. I didn't have Scooby Doo, but I got through it. And I went into work on the Monday, and he said, 'You are no longer a news reporter. You are now the sports reporter.' And he changed my life."

Since then, Jeff has been a sports reporter on a variety of different radio stations and TV shows- so it's fair to say talkSPORT Breakfast is in safe hands.

When asked why he took the Breakfast slot on the station, Jeff told Graham: "My impression was that, at that time of day, everybody walks around with a long face, dreading what's to come for the rest of the day and wishing they were back in their beds. So the idea was to try and put a smile on their face and I think over the years, talkSPORT has managed to do that."

Jeff Stelling hosts talkSPORT Breakfast every Monday and Tuesday morning from 6am. Listen for free on the talkSPORT app, online, on your smart speaker, via DAB Digital Radio and on 1089 or 1053 FM.

Listen to The Graham Norton Radio Show every Saturday AND Sunday from 9.30am on Virgin Radio or catch up on-demand here.