By Katie Rosseinsky

Published: Tuesday, 23 August 2022 at 12:00 am


The new season of Celebrity MasterChef is heating up, and sports star Jimmy Bullard is among the famous names hoping to cook up a storm.

The former professional footballer and host of Sky Sports’ Soccer AM will be one of 20 stars trying to win over judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with his cooking skills, but can Bullard score in the MasterChef kitchen? 

Here’s everything you need to know as the sporting pro joins the Celebrity MasterChef 2022 line-up

Who is Jimmy Bullard?

Age: 43

Job: Former footballer and TV presenter

Instagram: @1jimmybullard

Midfielder Bullard is best known for his stints at Wigan Athletic, helping the club to get promoted to the Premier League for the 2004/5 season, and at Hull City and Fulham, though he started his sporting career at the amateur club Corinthian and has also played for Dartford, Peterborough United and Ipswich Town.

He was part of the England squad in August 2008 for the World Cup 2010 qualifiers against Croatia and Andorra, but ended up not playing in the matches.

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Jimmy Bullard training with the England football team
Ian Kington/AFP via Getty Images)

His football career came to an end in 2012 while he was signed to Milton Keynes Dons, after suffering a series of knee injuries. 

After retiring from football, Bullard has gone on to have a career in television, appearing in the 2014 run of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2014 (aka the one with Gemma Collins) and eventually coming in 10th place, lasting 17 days in the jungle. He has also popped up as a pundit on shows including Goals on Sunday and Match of the Day.

He featured on the sports-themed panel show Play to the Whistle alongside the likes of Holly Willoughby, Bradley Walsh, Frank Lampard and Romesh Ranganathan, and since 2017 he has been a host on Sky’s Soccer AM. He also made a foray back into football between 2016 and 2017 when he served as the manager of Leatherhead FC.

Bullard also has his own podcast, Off the Hook with Jimmy Bullard, which sees him chat to big names from the world of football while fishing.

When does Celebrity MasterChef 2022 air? 

The new season of Celebrity MasterChef is currently airing, with Bullard’s heat beginning on Tuesday 23rd August at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. May the best chef win… 

Celebrity MasterChef airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. To find out what else is on TV, check out our TV Guide or visit our hub for more Entertainment news.

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