‘Suddenly I was earning a lot less’ says Adrian Chiles as he reveals after TV axe work ‘suddenly stopped’ after 20 years
Adrian Chiles has opened up on how being axed from a TV show meant work ‘suddenly dried up’ after a 20 year career, admitting ‘suddenly I was earning a lot less.’
He presented Match of the Day 2 and co-presented the One Show until 2010 when he signed with ITV Sport. However, when ITV terminated his contract in 2015, his finances began to spiral downward.
He also revealed that he struggled with a battle with booze and anxiety after being axed from the ITV breakfast show Daybreak in 2011.
In an interview with 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.
But he also confesses that he remains “relatively well off by anybody’s standards.”
“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.”
He concluded: “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.”
When he does splurge, he says that the most frivolous thing he bought recently was a compass for his car dashboard.
“Suddenly, I wanted to know which direction I was driving in.”
Adrian has hosted BBC One’s satirical news quiz, Have I Got News for You. He has also presented Working Lunch and The Money Programme, Panorama, various documentaries, and The Apprentice, which is called The Apprentice Your Fired.
He also appeared on a Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special in 2021.
Adrian presents the Radio 5 weekday mid-morning show every Thursday and Friday from 10am to 1pm.