A new four-part documentary for Prime Video, due to air in 2027, will examine the life and career of former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, promising to reveal “the truth behind the headlines” and shed further light on the circumstances around his departure from the BBC.
Lineker's BBC exit and podcast career
The 65-year-old former England striker spent 26 years presenting the iconic highlights show before announcing he was stepping down at the end of the 2024/25 Premier League season. He was due to stay with the BBC to front their coverage of the World Cup and live FA Cup matches, but his time with the broadcaster ended early in controversial circumstances after he shared a post about Zionism on Instagram that included an illustration of a rat — historically used as an anti-semitic insult.
He deleted the post and apologised, but his position was deemed untenable by his bosses and he confirmed he would leave the corporation early. Since then, he has focused on his podcast company, Goalhanger Productions, and fronting The Rest Is Football alongside Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, signing a deal with Netflix to make the podcast into a daily TV show during the recent World Cup.
Family and relationships in the spotlight
The documentary will also provide an insight into the presenter's life away from the studio, with family members, former team-mates, friends and critics all set to offer commentary on the Three Lions great's past and present. Lineker's private life has made headlines over the years, with the former BBC presenter admitting to having a “weird” relationship with one of his ex-wives.
He married his first wife, Michelle Cockayne, in 1986, and they have four sons together — George, Harry, Tobias and Angus. After two decades of marriage, they separated, with Cockayne filing for divorce citing her husband's alleged “unreasonable behaviour”. Lineker then began a relationship with Welsh actress and model Danielle Bux in 2008. After marrying the following year, they divorced in 2016 — allegedly over the former footballer's reluctance to have more children — but have remained amicable ever since.
A year after her split from Lineker, Bux had a baby daughter with American attorney Nate Greenwald and married him in 2019. But the former Match of the Day host has admitted he often joins the couple for dinner when he's in Los Angeles, insisting there is no awkwardness between them. “[Greenwald] has not got a jealous bone in his body,” he told the Radio Times. “We get on really well. We go out for dinner when I'm in LA. It might be unusual and people might go, 'That's weird' but, frankly, I don't care. What is normal? Is it better to get divorced and end up fighting, screaming and shouting? Or is it better to get on if you can?”
Brother feud and reunion
Lineker also disclosed his current relationship status in an interview with The Times, admitting that he is single and “likes being on his own”, before adding: “I know it sounds a bit mad. I have lots of company. I've got lots of friends and I've also got my boys... I don't feel lonely. I have the odd date here and there but nothing serious in terms of a long relationship. I've been married most of my adult life. Two really good marriages, I'm friends with both. I'm not saying whether it'll change. It might do. I don't know. But at the minute I'm very comfortable.”
Viewers of the documentary will also be hoping to hear from Lineker's brother Wayne, with the siblings reuniting last year after a bitter 17-year feud. The brothers' relationship is said to have deteriorated back in 2008, following Lineker's marriage to Bux, with nightclub tycoon Wayne recalling an uncomfortable first meeting with the model during an interview with The Sun in 2015. “In my opinion, Danielle cost me my relationship with my brother. Sadly Gary is no longer a part of my life,” he said. “They came to Ibiza in August 2008 and it was really awkward. I didn't spark with Danielle and our relationship was cold.”
While Wayne was his brother's best man at his first wedding, he chose not to attend his marriage to Bux after learning that his then-girlfriend wasn't invited to the ceremony. “He was my brother and he was telling me that I couldn't bring my girlfriend of a year and a half to his wedding,” he added. “She was a lovely, polite girl, and not a five-minute girlfriend.” The brothers' relationship continued to be uneasy for years, with Wayne disclosing his unsuccessful attempts to reconnect with the TV presenter. However, after showing signs of thawing, their feud finally ended last year as they were photographed together at the wedding of Wayne's daughter, Tia, in Mallorca. Images of the pair smiling as they posed side-by-side were later shared on social media, with Wayne writing: “Great to see my bro and my nephews at my daughters wedding #reunited #happy #family”.
