Strictly Come Dancing viewers were left astonished this week after realising that contestant Shaun Wright-Phillips is the son of football legend Ian Wright. The 44-year-old former professional footballer received a surprise visit in rehearsals from his father, who watched him and partner Alexis Warr practise their Quickstep to I'm a Believer by The Monkees.
Ian Wright's surprise visit
Speaking to the camera, the former Arsenal footballer said: "I thought that his moves were really good. Alexis is brilliant. I'm very proud of him because when he gets into that place when he has to focus on something he will be brilliant."
Fans at home took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their surprise. One wrote: "Had no idea he was Ian Wright's son." Another added: "I'm sorry, Ian Wright is Shaun's dad??!?!!" A third person said: "I did not realise Shaun’s dad is Ian Wright." Someone else commented: "Shaun being Ian Wright's son has made me feel really old." A fifth social media user said: "Had no idea that Ian Wright was Shaun’s dad, I had to Google it."
Family football legacy
Ian, 62, adopted Shaun, the son of his then-girlfriend Sharon Phillips, when Shaun was three years old. Ian and Sharon later had another son together named Bradley. The football pundit raised Shaun as his own son, and Shaun followed him into the sport. Both men became prominent English football players, with Ian starring for Arsenal and Crystal Palace, and Shaun playing for Manchester City, Chelsea, and England.
Ian split from Shaun and Bradley's mother shortly after the latter's birth and has since had six more kids with three different partners. Despite the split, Wright-Phillips has credited his dad with giving him plenty of support throughout his career.
Speaking to talkSPORT in 2019, the ex-Chelsea man said: "It was a big benefit to have my dad to knock certain things on the head that may have touched a very bad nerve and I could’ve reacted differently. He guided me and my brother in the right direction and we’ve learned to cope with it. It’s just not good to have in the game, period. It’s just wrong."
Next generation
Shaun has also passed his footballing abilities onto his own child, D'Margio, who also played as a winger. He came through City's youth set-up, the same as his dad, before going on to begin his senior career with Stoke City.
Speaking previously about his family's heritage in football, D'Margio told The Times in 2022: "There is always going to be pressure in football no matter what sort of family you’ve got and, to be honest, I don’t really feel the pressure. To me, it’s just my dad, my grandad and my uncle but I’m definitely aware of it. I’ve watched a lot of my dad’s YouTube videos and a lot of my grandad’s YouTube videos — even my uncle — and it’s just amazing to see, because one day I would hope for my family to do that with me."
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturdays on BBC One.
