For over two decades, Chris Kamara graced television screens as football’s funniest pundit, until he was cruelly forced to walk away from the job he loved.
Following his devastating diagnosis with speech apraxia in April 2022, the 65-year-old retired from Sky Sports.
But the Daily Mail can reveal that the broadcaster is set to make a sensational return to television alongside his close friend and This Morning presenter Ben Shephard.
The presenting pair, who first met as co-hosts of Goals on Sunday in 2010, will front a new travel series.
Shephard, 49, said the new programme will be ‘me and Kammy going around the UK in a campervan and exploring the various regions of the UK together.’
Chris Kamara graced television screens as football’s funniest pundit, until he was forced to walk away but the Daily Mail can reveal that the broadcaster is set to make a TV return
Chris is set to make a sensational return to television alongside his close friend and This Morning presenter Ben Shephard for a new travel series
The show will be a surefire hit with viewers who have lapped up the travelogue genre in recent years.
Insiders say the pair are hoping to replicate the success of Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip which has been a ratings hit for ITV. It sees chefs Gordon Ramsay, Gino D’Acampo and maitre d’ Fred Sirieix visit various countries and cities.
This month, an Australian adventure series fronted by actress Miriam Margoyles has been one of the BBC’s biggest successes, while Jack Whitehall’s Travels with My Father has proved so popular that Neftlix have produced five series to date.
It would be a remarkable return for the former professional footballer, who has admitted that he had considered ending his own life as he struggled to come to terms with his apraxia diagnosis, a neurological disorder that makes it hard to speak.
Kamara said that his distinctive Middlesborough voice was ‘slowly coming back’ thanks to treatment that he has received in Mexico which has been ‘such a help’.
He added: ‘I’ve been there twice now. I’m going back for a third time. I’ve got the fluency in my speech. The only thing I haven’t got is the speed of old, I know I talk 300 miles an hour before, but I’d like that back if I can. So I’m going back for more treatment.’
Shephard joked: ‘I used to get annoyed at Kammy, and say “If only you would think before you spoke”, and now he’s thinking too long. It’s about trying to find a balance.’
The comments were made at Iain Dale’s All Talk event at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
It would be a remarkable return for the former professional footballer, who has admitted that he had considered ending his own life as he struggled to come to terms with his apraxia
The duo have not begun filming the new series. They last presented together on ITV’s Ninja Warrior in 2022, until the show was axed.
Kamara credited his friend with aiding his recovery.
He said: ‘I’ve come through it with the help of the likes of Ben who have rallied around me. Now you think back and why was I thinking those thoughts? Get on and enjoy your life. And thankfully, I’ve been able to do that.’
