Gary Lineker has turned down offers to be a TV chef.
Gary Lineker
The 'Match of the Day' presenter took up cooking again after growing tired of takeaways and solo trips to restaurants following his split from his second wife Danielle Bux in 2016, but he has no intention of testing his culinary skills on the small screen.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I got fed up of sitting in restaurants on my own or getting takeaways and I thought I'll just learn to cook.
"I love it now. I'll do anything: Indian, Chinese, Italian, English. I've studied it as well, online and reading books. I've worked hard. It's become a real passion."
However, Gary - who is set to host new ITV show 'Sitting on a Fortune' - would "feel like a fraud" if he took on projects portraying himself as food expert.
He explained: "No. I've been asked to do cookbooks, I've been offered TV cooking shows, but I'd feel like a fraud.
"It would be like someone who has taken up football later in life and thinks he's all right, but compared to the Michelin star guys? No. I don't want to be a TV chef!"
The 60-year-old star recently dialled back his football projects, having quit BT Sport's Champions League coverage to give himself more time to travel or spend time with his sons.
Gary - who has George, 29, Harry, 27, Tobias, 25, and Angus, 23, from his first marriage to Michelle Cockayne - explained: "I wanted to free up my life a little bit so I can enjoy it as I get a little bit older, as I approach middle life.
"I did it for six years, I loved it, but it was a lot of weeks and it was very tiring.
"There a lots of things I want to do, whether it's travelling or doing things with the boys - although I'm not sure they'd agree!"
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