28 May 2023 , 09:00
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Jeff Stelling refuses to share hotel rooms with colleagues after being left "traumatised" following a night with Chris Kamara.
Stelling will present his last ever Soccer Saturday show on Sunday afternoon, covering this season's final round of Premier League fixtures. The beloved television host is leaving Sky Sports' flagship football results show after nearly 30 years in the hot seat.
Stelling worked alongside Chris Kamara, Soccer Saturday's lead reporter, for much of that time and the two have remained friends ever since. Despite their close bond, Stelling has no interest in sharing a hotel room with Kamara thanks to one hilarious story.
In an interview with FourFourTwo, Stelling was asked which player, past or present, he would choose as his ideal room-mate. The legendary presenter replied: "Not Chris Kamara!
"I’ve shared with him before, and let me put it this way: it’s a bit off-putting when you’re in a bath and you look up to see Kammy’s bare backside facing you, after he’s strolled in to have a shave, stark b******-naked. We shared a room in Japan at the 2002 World Cup and I’ve been traumatised ever since, so I don’t share rooms with people anymore!"
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Stelling announced he would step down from his Soccer Saturday role a month ago. He said: "It is groundhog day, it is that time of the year, every year, where I announce I am leaving Sky Sports and Soccer Saturday. But this time it is true."
Kamara and Stelling, joined here by Hayley McQueen, worked together at Sky Sports for many years (Getty Images)Show your love for Jeff Stelling and Chris Kamara in the comments below!
For many years, Stelling and Kamara were one of TV's great double acts. Stelling, sitting in the studio, would go live to Kamara to get an update on whatever game the ex-footballer was covering. Kamara's reports were sometimes chaotic, but never dull.
Kamara's catchphrase - 'Unbelievable Jeff' - is in honour of Stelling. Kamara, who left Soccer Saturday a year ago due to his ongoing battle with apraxia of speech, paid tribute to Stelling on Friday. He tweeted: "This Sunday sees the last day at Sky for the best broadcaster I have ever met, Jeff Stelling.
"I am getting my tribute in early because Jeff has been a massive part of my life, and I love him to bits. One of the things I do miss is working with the maestro. There will never be another. You are 'Unbelievable Jeff' - and always will be."
Stelling, moved by the tweet, replied: "We did OK, Kammy, didn’t we? For two scruffy kids from either side of the River Tees. All those feelings are mutual by the way. Thanks Pal. Take care!"
In a statement published last month, Sky Sports' director of football Gary Hughes said: "He [Stelling] will be sorely missed. Jeff has been synonymous with Saturday afternoon football for decades, exciting and enthusing football fans everywhere.
"His unique broadcasting ability and passion for the game has made Soccer Saturday an unmissable fixture for fans and has won him a multitude of awards."