Robbie Williams should be knighted for charity efforts, says Soccer Aid host Dermot O'Leary

"My wife [Dee Koppang O’Leary] is a TV drama director – she’s just doing Rivals again, and she worked on The Crown, Bridgerton and Abi Morgan’s The Split – so we watch a lot of drama. We’ve enjoyed zeitgeisty stuff like The Last of Us and The White Lotus, and I’ve retrospectively been getting into Andor. I love all my Star Wars and it’s the best TV of the Star Wars universe.

"Oh, and I adore Shogun! I’m glued to every frame of that. There is so much great, gutsy drama out there – we could have this conversation again tomorrow and I’d have another six or seven shows I’d talk about."

So, you don't watch a lot of your own genre, entertainment?

"I’m such an entertainment kid, and I grew up in live TV, but it must be like working in a fish-and-chip shop – you love fish and chips, but when you get home, you can’t eat fish and chips. I don’t sit down to watch entertainment shows, but if I’m cooking, that’s when I’ll watch them – as well as documentaries, live sport and current affairs."

What's been key to your success as a presenter?

"You can teach most things, but two things you can’t teach are curiosity and empathy. You meet some presenters who aren’t as curious as they should be. Empathy is something that you have and that you garner as you get older and you’ve lived a bit more. And you never stop learning.

"I hadn’t done much co-hosting before This Morning and I barely knew Alison [Hammond] when we started, but I’ve learnt so much from her and now she’s like a sister to me. Always learning is why I still really love the job."

You're hosting Soccer Aid — have you ever fancied playing in the match?

"I play five-a-side most Thursdays locally with a lovely bunch of guys of all ages, so part of me does fancy playing rather than hosting, especially when I see some of the players and think, 'Well, I could do that.' But then you get down onto the side of the pitch, you look at how big it is and realise it’s quite hard to kick a ball from the corner flag into anywhere near the box! It’s the 10th anniversary next year, so maybe they’ll let me go out and play for 10 minutes."

Who have you seen get the most rapturous reception from the Soccer Aid crowd?

"When Pele came to visit, it was like Jesus had turned up. You had the crowd going wild, but you also had these really famous football players walking past losing the plot because Pele was there. I’ve been lucky enough to meet a lot of famous people, and it’s not easy to handle that level of fame. Pele acknowledged his legendary status, but it fell so lightly on his shoulders. That’s the hallmark of class."

Have you got a favourite footballer you’d like to see play on Soccer Aid?

"Thierry Henry – he was such a gifted, beautiful footballer to watch and had this passion combined with intelligence, which I love. That whole Arsenal team were about that, so you didn’t feel like you were supporting a bunch of idiots."

Do you agree that Robbie Williams doesn't get the credit he deserves for coming up with Soccer Aid, and that if there's a football/charity-related knighthood going, he should be first in line?

"I would like to see Robbie knighted. Robbie always shows up, and I don’t mean that just literally. Even if he isn’t playing, he brings that stardust quality. When he does something, he really commits to it, I saw that when I did The X Factor with him. We had Judges’ Houses round his house and normally they can’t wait to get rid of us, but Robbie is so committed and so focused – and the focus he has given UNICEF has been great. It would be lovely to see that recognised."

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Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2025 airs on Sunday 15th June at 6pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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