Wright refuses to be a 'court jester'

Ian Wright has quit as a BBC football pundit, claiming that the corporation is out of touch and that he was expected to be a “comedy jester”.

The former England and Arsenal player could prompt an exodus of talent from the BBC after its loss of international matches and the FA Cup to ITV. Wright, 44, who has also presented BBC entertainment shows including the National Lottery, said that the corporation’s football coverage was too formal.

“Times are changing,” he told Broadcastmagazine. “I don’t know how long young people are going to want to sit down and watch that same old ‘jacket, shirt and tie’ format.” He added: “Fans want people who are dressed like them. They’ve got no one to relate to on TV and that’s why I’ve said to them I don’t want to do the England games any more.”

The final straw may have been the decision to dress the Match of the Day team in sober suits and ties for the first England match under the new manager, Fabio Capello, in February. The flamboyant pundit always chafed against BBC Sport’s dress code.

Wright, a forward who earned 31 England caps, said: “I feel like I’m just there as a comedy jester to break the ice with Alan Shearer and Alan Hansen, who just do run-of-the-mill things. I can’t do that any more. People want something different.” He was a passionate contributor to the BBC’s football coverage who coined memorable expressions such as: “Without being too harsh on David Beckham, he cost us the match.” He would often howl in anguish at the England team’s failings.

He had already fallen out of favour with his bosses at the BBC after accusing it of failing to nurture black talent. “I think it’s a disgrace – where are the black presenters on BBC prime-time TV?” Wright, a supporter of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign, asked last year in a newspaper article.

Wright said that he wanted to do more diverse programmes than just “get up there and smile on tap” but the BBC would not let him. The corporation said it was baffled by his outburst. A source said: “He was a freelance who only wanted to do England matches. We have lost England matches, so his role does not exist at the moment.”

The BBC denied that he was required to play a “jester” role. A spokesman said: “He was hired as a recently retired international player to give his own expert opinions, in his own style.” Wright will not be part of the BBC’s Euro 2008 team but could be a target for ITV, which is also showing an interest in Adrian Chiles, the host of Match of the Day 2, for a role in its Champions League coverage.

Wright will now present a revival of Gladiators for Sky One and co-host a Talk Sport radio show.