27 Facts About Jeff Stelling

Robert Jeffrey Stelling was born on 18 March 1955 and is an English television presenter.

Jeff Stelling presented Gillette Soccer Saturday for Sky Sports from 1994 until 2023 and hosted coverage of the Champions League between 2011 and 2015.

Jeff Stelling presented the Channel 4 quiz show Countdown and ITV game show Alphabetical.

Jeff Stelling was brought up in a council house in Hartlepool.

Jeff Stelling's first broadcasting position was as a reporter on Middlesbrough FC on Radio Tees in the late 1970s.

Jeff Stelling was a sports presenter on London's LBC Radio Sportswatch programme in the early 1980s before moving to BBC Radio 2's weekend sports programme Sport on 2, covering the Los Angeles and Seoul Olympic games.

Jeff Stelling later spent time as a sports newsreader at TV-am, Channel 4, Eurosport and British Satellite Broadcasting before moving to Sky in 1992 to present coverage of horse racing, greyhound racing, snooker and darts.

In May 2013, Jeff Stelling joined twentyfour7 Football Magazine and wrote columns for the magazine's Dream Team.

Jeff Stelling has been featured in the in-game presentation work for EA Sports' FIFA 14 and FIFA 15.

In 1994, Jeff Stelling became presenter of Sports Saturday, which became Gillette Soccer Saturday in 1998, hosting a programme lasting up to six hours of football discussion and live reports on the afternoon's games with a panel of pundits including Frank McLintock, Chris Kamara, Rodney Marsh and George Best.

However, Jeff Stelling's appointment coincided with a new, shorter format of the programme, with Jeff Stelling presenting the show live from the ground of that evening's game.

In 2011, Jeff Stelling replaced the departed Richard Keys as the main presenter of Sky's live Champions League coverage and hosted between 2011 and 2015.

On 21 November 2008, it was reported that Jeff Stelling had been confirmed as the new host of the Channel 4 game show Countdown following the departure of Des O'Connor.

Jeff Stelling had reportedly been approached for the role following the death of long-time host Richard Whiteley, but the role was given to former fellow sports presenter Des Lynam instead.

Jeff Stelling began recording Countdown in December 2008, with the show's new assistant Rachel Riley, and started broadcasting in January 2009.

However, it was announced on 25 May 2011 that Jeff Stelling would be stepping down as presenter of Countdown at the end of the year, after three years at the helm, to concentrate on football, including his new Champions League role.

Jeff Stelling returned to Countdown as a guest in Dictionary Corner in August 2023 and, at the invitation of the host Colin Murray, swapped places to present the final part of the week.

Jeff Stelling appears as himself in a number of episodes of the football comedy TV series Ted Lasso.

Jeff Stelling has appeared as himself in The IT Crowd, Dream Team and Mike Bassett: Manager.

Jeff Stelling appeared in an advert for Sky Broadband in 2013 which spoofed a previous Sky Broadband advert which starred Bruce Willis.

Jeff Stelling was named Sports Broadcaster of the Year for four successive years by the Sports Journalists' Association, based on a poll of its members.

Jeff Stelling was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to sport, broadcasting and charity.

Jeff Stelling's son Robbie is a journalist and currently works for the Hartlepool Mail.

Jeff Stelling has completed the London Marathon on eight occasions and his best time is 3 hours and 28 minutes.

In 2015, Jeff Stelling was appointed president of Hartlepool United after accepting a request from the club's owners.

Jeff Stelling walked with his friend Russ Green, who was the Chief Executive of Hartlepool United at the time, and was joined by over 400 walkers including his friends from Sky Sports and the football world such as Chris Kamara, Matt Le Tissier, Charlie Nicholas and Paul Merson.

In 2017, Jeff Stelling again pledged to walk to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.