From football to farming! How Soccer AM presenter Helen Chamberlain turned her back on fame for life in the country (but occasionally still presents the darts!)
- Helen Chamberlain, 55, found fame as she presented Soccer AM on Saturdays
- Read more: Sky Sports football reporters have been told to reapply for their jobs
Soccer AM had a whole slew of presenters during its almost 30 years on the air.
From Jane Robertson, who was the first ever host of the Saturday morning show, to comedian Lloyd Griffith, a string of characters have presented the programme.
However there was one presenter whose name became so synonymous with the show that she became known as Mrs Soccer AM.
Helen Chamberlain, 55, began presenting the football show in 1995 and ended up leaving in 2017.
She embarked on a countryside life filled with farming and metal detecting, which her former co-host Tim Lovejoy has compared to her own version of The Good Life.
Here FEMAIL reveals what the football presenter has been doing since she left the programme…
Soccer AM had a whole slew of presenters during it’s almost 30 years on the air – but it was Helen Chamberlain who became known as Mrs Soccer AM
Helen began presenting the football show in 1995 and ended up leaving in 2017, embarking on a countryside life filled with farming and metal detecting (left, in 2012, and right, in 2022)
The presenter now lives on a farm and often shares snaps from her metal detecting hobby on her Instagram page
Helen became synonymous with the show during its early inception along with former co-host Tim Lovejoy.
She began on the football show in 1995 alongside Lovejoy and became one of the show’s most popular presenters.
She also guest presented on two former Channel 4 breakfast shows – The Big Breakfast (alongside Johnny Vaughan) and RI:SE.
Meanwhile she was also a presenter for Sky TV’s dedicated Poker channel Sky Poker.
She also co-hosted on Channel 5’s late night sports programme Live And Dangerous during 1997.
In 2005, she finished second in the 2005 Poker Million tournament winning $400,000.
The presenter spent her winnings on buying a Range Rover for her boyfriend, and the racehorse Birkspiel.
He would go on to win €50,000 Group 3 race in Baden-Baden, Germany.
She went on to own a number of other race horses, including a flat racer Napoletano and sprinter Merlin’s Dancer.
In a 2006 interview with the Guardian, she said when she became involved in TV it was ‘a laugh’, adding: ‘I came late to television – I was 27 and had been a redcoat at Pontin’s and an announcer at Chessington Zoo – so I feel surprised, lucky and a little guilty…
‘I suppose the days of an outsider like me getting a chance are fading.
‘There are so many failed boy and girl bands and reality TV contestants out there now that producers can just pick one off the line.’
Helen became synonymous with the show during its early inception along with former co-host Tim Lovejoy (pictured together)
The presenter was a regular on TV screens in the noughties (pictured with Jonathan Ross, Boris Becker on They Think It’s All Over in 2005)
She continued presenting Soccer AM when Tim left in 2007.
The following year, she was linked to darts player, James Wade, a relationship which is thought to have lasted till 2010.
After rumours began circulating that the two were dating, he said in 2008: ‘Some of the things I’ve read are not quite true, but we all have good friends, whether they are male or female.
‘Helen loves darts – perhaps that’s why we get on so well – but people are putting two and two together and making seven.
‘If they made five, they may be closer to the truth, or they may be a million miles away… who knows?’
It was announced she was leaving Soccer AM in 2017, with the official account sharing a message which read: ‘Farewell and thank you to Mrs Soccer AM. This place won’t be the same without you.’
Speaking to Lovejoy on his podcast in 2019, she said she hadn’t left the programme for so long because she had no interest in other jobs.
She said: ‘I turned more stuff back than I took. I was offered Fort Boyard…I immediately said no.’
She told her former co-host that she found it ‘liberating’ leaving the show because it allowed her to enjoy her love of football again.
Meanwhile she also revealed: ‘I’ve never classed myself as famous. I get left alone.
‘I can go around Tesco with toilet paper in my trolley and not feel embarrassed.’
She told the Athletic in 2020 about life on her farm after presenting the show for 22 years.
Despite being such a long-standing presenter on the Saturday morning TV show, Helen kept a relatively low profile and rarely gave interviews about her own life
After leaving Soccer AM, Helen said she felt it was ‘liberating’ and she could enjoy football in a different way
Chamberlain said: ‘I spent nearly half my life sitting on that sofa. I was there for nearly 23 years.
‘That’s a long time to have any job, never mind a job in broadcasting. I had the farm to see to.
‘I wanted to rescue more dogs and breed sheep and chickens. So I didn’t have time for Saturday mornings anymore.’
Despite her life on the farm, she has returned to TV to present a number of shows in recent years – including the inaugural World Seniors Darts Championship.
In February last year, she was criticised by some fans after she swore a number of times on live TV.
She now tends to keep a low profile, occasionally sharing snaps of life on her farm with her Instagram followers.
She is not believed to have ever married and doesn’t have children.
While she has sometimes posted photographs of her donkeys, sheep and dogs, she rarely shares snaps of herself.
After leaving Soccer AM, Helen began pursuing a different sporting interest – and regularly attended darts championships
In July last year, she posted a rare selfie holding a coin she had found in a field, writing: ‘Chuffed with this lovely hammered coin I found yesterday at the @lpmetaldetecting dig in Dorset using the new Nokta Legend.
‘Been loosely ID’d as David II Scottish penny from the 1300’s. #metaldetecting #noktamakro #noktalegend #dorset.’
Meanwhile she also went viral on Twitter after she was trolled for posting a photograph alongside Fallon Sherrock.
She wrote: ‘I didn’t really like the way I looked in this photo, but I was so chuffed to meet Fallon I shared it anyway.
‘I could have easily retweeted this comment with a snark, or a put down, but here’s the truth. It made me feel really low today.’
Last year, the presenter shared a snap as she posted with her ‘hero’ Fallon Sherrick – but later hit out at trolls who had criticised her looks
Helen said she was left feeling ‘really low’ after trolls commented on her appearance last year on Twitter
Despite her life on the farm, she has returned to TV to present a number of shows in recent years – including the inaugural World Seniors Darts Championship
However Helen might not quite be finished with the showbiz world yet – this week, it emerged she could be set for a stint on Strictly Come Dancing.
According to bookmakers Ladbrokes, they’ve tipped the former Sky Sports presenter at just 4/1 to take to the dance floor later in the year.
It was revealed earlier this week that Soccer AM has reportedly been cancelled by Sky Sports after almost 30 years on the air.
Bosses allegedly made the decision to axe the popular Saturday morning show on Tuesday, with 10 episodes left before it is taken off air.
‘Soccer AM has played an important role in our coverage of football for the past three decades, and we continually adapt to the evolving needs of our customers,’ a Sky spokesperson told The Mirror.
‘We now go into a period of consultation to discuss the proposed changes with our people. We are unable to provide more detail while these consultations are underway.’
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