Wayne Bridge dipped his toe into the showbiz jungle when he appeared on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2016 and ahead of the return of the show this year, Female First caught up with the former Chelsea and England footballer as he promoted the Walking With The Wounded charity in London.
Are you looking forward to the start of I'm A Celebrity this year?
I have to say, I’m not someone who would sit there glued to the show every night. I’d be more likely to watch if someone I know is in there and this year, we have another footballer in Ian Wright to cheer on. Ian is a funny guy and so is the former rugby player James Haskell. They are my favourites for I'm A Celebrity, but sometimes the favourites don’t always win.
How do you reflect on your stint in the jungle?
For me, it was an amazing opportunity. I love to challenge myself and as I hate snakes and spiders, that was really taking myself out of the comfort zone. I was close to saying no to it because I’m not keen on putting myself out there on TV.
Would you say you shy away from publicity?
Probably. I have done some of the reality TV stuff now, but I have always tended to take a back seat and not try to be the frontman, even as a player. As it turns out, I’m A Celebrity was one of the best experiences of my life and I would say I grew as a person doing it. I’d say the same about the SAS: Who Dares Wins show.
Will you do any more reality shows?
I often get asked what I’m doing next and I always say Strictly Come Dancing. At least, that is what I think will be a good idea after I’d had a few pints with my mates and I forget that I can’t dance to save my life! So I doubt I’ll be doing that show.
You seem to be keen to work on TV away from football. Is that a deliberate step?
I love football and I’m grateful for what the game gave me, but I would never have been the type to sit down on a Sunday and watch three games in a row, or cancel everything to watch Match of the Day. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve never tried to become a football pundit. To do that job, you have to be deeply into the game and know everything that’s going on, but I’m more keen to spend time with my family. Guys like Gary Neville offer great insight because they are following the game closely, but I have never lived and breathed football. I’m just not that kind of person and also, people like Jose Mourinho and Roy Keane on Sky are great to watch because they are happy to criticise players or managers. That wouldn’t be something I’d like to do.
The wages footballers earn is often a talking point. How do you feel about the negativity that sometimes surrounds it?
When you spend time with people who have served our country in the military or doctors and nurses, it is embarrassing when you see what footballers earn. Sky and the broadcasters are putting the money into the game so the players deserve it, but I can see why people have a problem with it. There are people out there in big business that earn much more than footballers, but it always seems to come back to footballers earning too much because the sport is so high-profile. This is a tough subject to talk about because I know how hard I worked to play professional football, play for top clubs and play for England. I was not the best in my youth teams, I was not the most naturally gifted, but I gave everything to get where I was and the reward came my way.
Why did you get involved with the Walking With The Wounded charity?
I have such respect for servicemen and that is the reason why I decided this was a project I wanted to get involved with. I did the SAS: Who Dares Wins show and on the back of that I met someone associated with Walking With The Wounded. When you spend time around them, you have so much respect for what they go through and deal with when they stop serving. When you listen to the stories these guys and women have been through, it is a real reality check for what we moan about in our lives.
To do your own fundraising walk, big or small, sign up for free at www.WalkingHomeForChristmas.com
Words by Kevin Palmer, who you can follow on Twitter @RealKevinPalmer.
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