Presenters and Commentators
Match of the Day's first match was presented by Kenneth Wolstenholme, who also commentated alongside Walley Barnes. By 1970 David Coleman had established himself as the programme's main anchorman. Jimmy Hill then took over the role in 1973 after moving from ITV, although Coleman continued to feature as a commentator. One of the programme's most famous presenters, Des Lynam, joined in 1979 as a commentator before taking over from Hill in 1988, although Hill was retained as a pundit.
Current presenter, former England captain Gary Lineker, joined as a pundit in 1995 before becoming the main presenter after Lynam's departure in 1999. Ray Stubbs was a stand-in presenter on the programme for 17 seasons, from the start of the Premier League in 1992 until he left the BBC in 2009. Other stand-in hosts have included Gabby Logan, Mark Pougatch, Mark Chapman, Celina Hinchcliffe, the show's first female presenter and Jake Humphrey became the youngest presenter of the show and now is the F1 Main Presenter but features heavily on football coverage .
Currently Lineker is typically joined by two pundits for highlights shows. Since 2007, the weekly Saturday edition of MOTD has used any pairing of Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson, Lee Dixon and Alan Shearer in rotation. Match of the Day 2, aired on Sundays, is presented by Colin Murray and features either two or three pundits. Dixon, Hansen, Martin Keown, and Les Ferdinand are the most regular pundits, although current or former players and managers also contribute. Comedian Kevin Day provides supporters-led reportage at a particular match each weekend.
The main commentators are Jonathan Pearce, Steve Wilson, Guy Mowbray and Simon Brotherton. The longest-running commentator is John Motson, who made his first appearance on 9 October 1971. He continues to feature on the programme, although is no longer the BBC's principal commentator for live matches, having retired from live coverage after Euro 2008. Other freelance commentators used include: Tony Gubba, John Roder, Dan O'Hagan, Martin Fisher, Ian Gwyn Hughes, Steve Bower, Alistair Mann, Louis Browne, Russell Vernon, Roger Johnson and Paul Mitchell. In April 2007, Jacqui Oatley became the first woman to commentate on the programme. For live matches the commentator will be joined by a co-commentator, usually Lawrenson, Keown, Mark Bright, or Iain Dowie.
Previous commentators include: Barry Davies who featured between 1969 and 2004, Stuart Hall, Alan Weeks, Alan Parry, Gerald Sinstadt, Idwal Robling, Harry Carpenter, Clive Tyldesley and Jon Champion.
Occasionally, guests have been known to take part in the show. On the final day of the 1993/94 season, Frank Skinner and David Baddiel were present as studio pundits, offering a somewhat lighthearted slant on the role. In February 2010, Croatia manager Slaven Bilić made a guest appearance on the show, on a weekend when many Croatian players were in action for their clubs.
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