Adrian Chiles reveals struggle after 'earning a lot less' following TV axe as work 'dried up'

Former Match of the Day 2 presenter Adrian Chiles has opened up about his struggle with his finances after he lost his job on TV and had to take a huge cut in pay

Sports presenter Adrian Chiles has opened up about how he struggled with "earning a lot less" after his TV work "suddenly dried up."

Adrian was a mainstay of prime-time TV when he presented Match Of The Day 2 as well as co-presenting The One Show until 2010. He then switched to working for ITV Sport after signing a lucrative contract with the broadcaster.

However, in 2015 they terminated his contract and after a 20 year career in TV his work suddenly dried up leading to his finances taking a downward spiral. He had also had a struggle with alcohol as well as battling anxiety when he was axed from ITV breakfast show Daybreak in 2011.

Talking to The Guardian, the Radio 5, presenter said: “The ups and downs with my income have been stressful over the years, but I’ve always been quite careful with money. I never spent more than I had. When I joined ITV, I started earning a lot of money, which was weird. Then things went the other way, and suddenly, I was earning a lot less."

However, while the change of money was strange for him, he says he is still "relatively well off by anybody’s standards." He added: “There was a moment when I was earning more, and I bought a flat. I sat at this huge bloody table and thought: What am I doing?What madness is this? It was a real moment of realisation for me. I didn’t regret buying the flat, but I tried to buy less stuff after that. The more you have, the more you spend. If I won the lottery, I’d probably spend it all on an ad campaign saying: Buy Less Stuff.”

Adrian confessed that now when he does splurge it's usually in a pretty low-key way. He explained that the most frivolous thing he bought recently was a compass for his car dashboard as he detailed "Suddenly, I wanted to know which direction I was driving in.”

Adrian previously hosted hit BBC One satirical news quiz, Have I Got News for You. He has also hosted Working Lunch and The Money Programme, Panorama, as well as a string of documentaries, and The Apprentice: Your Fired. He also appeared on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special in 2021.

Earlier this year Adrian admitted he is studying the "dark arts" and wants to buy crystals after seeing a store in the West Midlands that specialised in "witchy supplies" and is also convinced witches are a force for good despite being terrified of them in the past.

He wrote in his regular column for The Guardian: "I saw a strange thing on the way to Cradley Heath. Or thought I did. I was driving my mum's car to a garage for a service. I passed a shop for witches. 'Witchy Supplies', it said on the sign. I did a double take, giving thanks there was no one in front of me or I'd have driven into them."

"Later, I mentioned this place to a couple of friends who live and work in that area and they looked at me funny. What? A witches' supply shop? In Colley Gate? Are you sure?" I wondered if I'd dreamed it. So when I collected the car, I risked another drive past and, yes, there it was. The Wicklow Witch. Candles, Crystals, Witchy Supplies."

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