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Gary Lineker, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and celebrity influencers

Amol reflects on the run-ins and legacy of Lineker ahead of his final weekend hosting Match of the Day.

It’s the end of an era for Match of the Day – with Gary Lineker hosting for the final time after 25 years in the hot seat. He will now leave the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ a year earlier than expected in the wake of an antisemitism row.

Amol – who recently sat down with Lineker for a long television interview – reflects on the former footballer’s run-ins with the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ over impartiality and use of social media – and his legacy both as a presenter and a modern celebrity influencer.

He’s joined by former culture minister, Conservative peer Lord Vaizey, and by former Sun editor David Yelland, now co-host of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds podcast When It Hits the Fan.

To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme make sure you hit subscribe on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds. That way you’ll get an alert every time we release a new episode, and you won’t miss our extra bonus episodes either.

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The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson who are both presenters of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4’s Today programme. Amol was the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV’s political editor.

This episode was made by Lewis Vickers and Tom Smithard with Izzy Rowley. Digital production was by Izzy Rowley. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The editor is Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.

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35 minutes

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  • Thu 22 May 2025 23:00

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