Traitors and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire star Joe Marler lobbied for a chance of a reunion with his rival
Joe Marler is set to appear on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, months after he publicly appealed to ITV for his dream job. The 35-year-old will be a guest on the celebrity edition of the quiz show this Friday, alongside comedian Katherine Ryan.
Marler‘s TV popularity has surged since his standout performance on BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors in October. However, it was prior to his stint on the hit show that he expressed interest in joining ITV’s coverage of the Six Nations earlier this year.
Upon hearing that former England coach Eddie Jones would be part of the ITV panel for the tournament, which France won for the seventh time, Marler, who recently retired, took to social media to lobby for a spot on the punditry panel, which also featured Sir Clive Woodward.
The ex-prop player posted: “Please let me go toe-to-toe with the Beaver and [Sir Clive] Woodward on @ITVRugby coverage! ! !” Marler, who played under Jones during his seven-year tenure as England boss, had previously criticised the latter stages of Jones’s management, alleging a “dark” atmosphere within the England camp under his leadership.
On the For The Love Of Rugby podcast, Marler revealed: “The environment [under Borthwick] is worlds apart from what Eddie’s became towards that second half of his cycle, which was dark at times.
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“I have a lot of respect for the Big Beev, but there were some parts of his environment that I questioned to him and questioned around him and it’s nothing like what Steve has created.”
Despite their contrasting styles, Marler praised Jones’s empathetic response when he confided in him about needing to step away from rugby. He shared: “When I was going through a dark time in my life, when I decided I couldn’t play for England any more, I sat down with him in a coffee shop in Brighton.
“I was nervous. I told him: ‘Mate, I can’t do this anymore. I need to leave rugby and sort my head out’. He was brilliant. ‘Mate, I can see it in your eyes. Let me know if there’s anything we can do to help. Can we help you see someone?’
“It was a proper human reaction, not the flippant side of him I’d sometimes seen. It felt like he cared. And he texted me every week after that, asking how I was, telling me to get down the beach and get some sea air in my lungs.”
