Gary Lineker lifted lid on Match of the Day ‘secret’ that is key feature of BBC show

Gary Lineker has shared that his sharp quips at the end of Match of the Day aren't always his own creations.

As well as being a polished presenter of the iconic football highlights show, Lineker is known for his love of dad jokes at the end of the programme. From 'Wow Pedro' after Joao Pedro scored against Manchester United, to joking about it being his "Final show...before the international break" amidst rumours of his departure before it was actually announced, Lineker's quips are the stuff of legend.

However, it turns out the 64-year-old presenter doesn't solely craft his moments of humour. On an episode of the Rest Is Football, Lineker opened up about the process behind the scenes at the BBC programme.

He explained: "I'm going to share a little secret here. Our editor Richard Hughes and myself have a disease, a thing that we can't help but make dad jokes. We basically come up with them together – 50 per cent of the time it will be him and 50 per cent of the time it will be me.

"We sit down at the end of all the games, and we figure out the best story to close the show. We then think of some crappy and cheesy and occasionally funny pun." He added: "I always think you are going to make it really, really bad or really cheesy, because that in itself is fun."

Elsewhere, Lineker shared a glimpse into his routine on the Match of the Day coverage during another episode of his podcast with Micah Richards and Alan Shearer. He explained: "I love the three o'clock thing where we sit down. You've got five games at 3pm, and you each give yourself a game or get designated a game to watch through so you can focus on it properly analytically.

He added: "And then we've got a big table at the back of the room of goodies right. You know, there's crisps – Walkers, obviously – there's chocolate, there's all sorts of things. And every Saturday I go in and I say 'do not get involved with that table this Saturday' because once you start, once you're in, you don't stop. And once again, I failed miserably. So I kept snacking away, snacking away."

On the topic of food, he added: "Then we usually eat don't we, about half-time of the evening game, so around 6ish, 6.30pm something like that. And it's basically whichever takeaway... I mean I've been going up there now for 13 years, and I think we've exhausted every possible take-out. But it's usually Nando's, Wagamama's, all sorts of Chinese, Caribbean food – all sorts of stuff we get in don't we?"

Lineker then revealed that he heads to the studio at around 9.30pm, rehearsing his lines before delivering the show and ending the long working day around midnight. However, Lineker will step back from his long-standing presentational duties on Match of the Day at the end of the current Premier League season.

Nevertheless, the player-turned-pundit will continue to be involved with the BBC, presenting the FA Cup and subsequently leading their coverage of the 2026 World Cup. Alex Kay-Jelski, BBC Sport's Director, acknowledged Lineker's immense contribution to MOTD, a programme that consistently draws in millions of viewers weekly.

He said: "After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week. He'll be hugely missed on the show but we're so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football."