Former Liverpool star Jermaine Pennant has confessed how he believes his stint on Celebrity Big Brother torpedoed his chances of a successful punditry career.
It's a common path for retired athletes to transition into media roles, but not everyone is suited for the spotlight of broadcasting. Pennant, who hung up his boots and jumped into the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2018, believes his appearance on the show caused broadcasters to shy away from him.
Despite making 81 appearances for Liverpool and reaching the Champions League final in 2007, he thinks his 19-day stay in the reality TV house left a lasting negative impression. However, the veteran's cameo in the social experiment was far from his first brush with controversy in the public eye, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Pennant, 41, occasionally appears on talkSPORT but feels his potential in punditry has been significantly limited. Reflecting on the impact of his reality TV venture, Pennant expressed his frustrations to FastestPayoutOnlineCasino.com: "Big Brother did impact my life a little bit because once you go down that road of reality TV, people don't take you seriously.
"If you want to go into punditry, be in the media and the radio, you are not really taken seriously. I think it took a hit on my career and who I was, what I achieved, it dented it.
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"Obviously the way I behaved on the show wasn't great, and that was not good. It didn't have a massive impact but it did affect me a bit, it took me time to get away from that scene and into punditry, media."
Pennant, who also had stints with the likes of Arsenal, Stoke, Wolves, Wigan, and Birmingham, behaved controversially on Celebrity Big Brother. He shared an intimate moment with fellow contestant Chloe Ayling while being married to Alice Goodwin – a scenario which tarnished his public reputation.
Alice Goodwin and Jermaine Pennant were married when he was seen cosying up to Chloe Ayling in the Big Brother house (Twitter)Back in 2005, Pennant also made headlines for the wrong reasons when he was given a suspended jail sentence for drink-driving whilst uninsured and under a driving ban. He ended up serving 30 days in prison and had to sport an electronic tag during his parole period – even while playing.
However, despite his recent revelations, Pennant has previously expressed fame is not all it's hyped up to be, adding: "Sometimes I'd have liked to have not been recognised as a footballer. When you're at the pinnacle of your career, you do just sometimes want to go out and be normal.
"To not be known, because when you're trying to meet someone you don't know if they are interested in you or because of who you are.
"I guess it's part and parcel of anyone in the public eye, so you just have to take the rough with the smooth. There are times you just want to be normal, I tried to and I think that's why I got into a lot of trouble at the time."
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