Gary Lineker to host new ITV game show The Box

The new show will be filmed in the UK this year before airing on ITV in 2026

Gary Lineker is to host a new TV game show called The Box, ITV has confirmed.

The new show will see the former Match of the Day presenter oversee 10 yellow boxes, each housing celebrity contestants who will be transported to unknown locations, where they will take part in different games.

It will be his first presenting job since leaving Match of the Day in May amid an antisemitism row.

Lineker, who previously hosted another ITV game show, Sitting on a Fortune - for 13 episodes across two seasons from 2021 to 2023 - said in a statement: "I can't wait to host The Box."

He continued: "I've always felt right at home in the box on a football pitch, and whilst this is a different proposition, the fundamentals are similar.

"The contestants will have to quickly and masterfully work out how each game works, whilst also trying to get ahead of the competition to take control.

"It's going to be unpredictable and thrilling to watch, and I'm excited that I get to have a front row seat to all the action!"

The series, based on a show that aired recently in Norway, will be filmed in the UK later this year before being broadcast on ITV in 2026.

Each week, two players will face off in a dramatic finale known as "the duel".

ITV entertainment boss Katie Rawcliffe said Lineker was "the perfect fit for The Box", which she promised would provide "an entertaining, exhilarating and immersive new format."

In May, Lineker held back tears as he signed off from his final edition of Match of the Day after 26 years in the hot seat and officially left the BBC.

He had been due to remain with the BBC for the upcoming season to front its coverage of the men's FA Cup and later the World Cup, but he left earlier than planned after apologising for sharing an antisemitic social media post.

The ex-Barcelona and England footballer is also co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, makers of the popular The Rest Is History series and its spin-offs about politics, entertainment, money and football - for which he is a co-host.

Goalhanger recently struck a deal with Spanish football's top division, known as La Liga, to show clips from its matches plus weekly highlights and analysis from Lineker and fellow presenter Alex Aljoe.