Former chief football presenter says it reached point where he struggled to get his words out

The broadcaster Adrian Chiles has revealed he had a problem with anxiety during his time as chief football presenter on ITV.

He became the face of the channel’s football coverage in 2010 after six years presenting the BBC highlights show Match of the Day 2.

Chiles’s airtime was reduced after he transferred to ITV, in part because of the advertising breaks on the commercial broadcaster. He said this led to him feeling anxious while he was on air.

The 51-year-old told the Radio Times: “Anxiety had begun to affect my work. There was actually very little to do in presenting the football, ask a pre-prepared question of each pundit, throw to a break – and the less there was to do, the harder I found it.

“It became difficult for me to get the words out in the right order. I’d gone from somebody who could ad lib for hours on end to the opposite. One night at Wembley, I looked at the autocue and I could hardly get the words out.”

Over five years he hosted live coverage and analysis of numerous England and Champions League matches and covered two World Cups. He was replaced on ITV in 2015 by Mark Pougatch.

Since leaving ITV, Chiles has hosted a number of BBC Radio 5 Live shows, including 6-6 and 5 Live Daily. A documentary he made about alcohol and his growing concern that he was drinking excessively, Drinkers Like Me, will air on BBC Two next Monday.