Famous Faces Who Played Britball: From Dermot O’Leary to Vernon Kay and Beyond
- Joel Pearson
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
When Dermot O’Leary was chosen as the face of Channel 5’s NFL coverage, a lot of people asked, “Why him?” Well, it turns out he was a keen American footballer as a teenager and even played Britball. This led us at Inside Britball to explore and uncover some of the other famous faces who’ve played Britball at one time or another, and not just from the world of sport. There’s more than you’d think…
Who’ve we missed? Tell us in the comments.
Dermot O’Leary - Colchester Gladiators / Ipswich Cardinals
The new face of American football on Channel 5 and one of the most omnipresent TV presenters of the last twenty years, O’Leary was a keen sportsman in his youth and played for Colchester Gladiators in the early 90s. After the Gladiators folded in 1995, he also turned out for a year for the Ipswich Cardinals. O’Leary was actually partly responsible for the Gladiators’ reformation in 2003, playing in a charity match for the reformed Gladiators and bringing publicity to the cause as his TV career had begun by this point (as the host of Big Brother’s Little Brother).
Vernon Kay - Manchester Allstars / London Warriors
Vernon Kay is arguably the most famous Britballer. Kay played in his youth for Manchester Allstars in the late 80s, as a cornerback. In 2011 he attempted to reunite some former Manchester Allstars teammates for a TV show, taking on the then-BUCS champions Birmingham Lions. This led to a reignited interest in the sport and he joined London Warriors in 2011 at the height of his fame, even going from presenting his Radio 1 show on Saturday morning to playing in the 2011 Britbowl later that same day. He can also call himself a Britbowl champion, having played in the Warriors’ victory in 2013.
Ricky Whittle/ Chris Fountain - Manchester Titans
The Titans could boast not one but two Hollyoaks stars in 2009, recruiting Whittle (Calvin Valentine) and Fountain (Justin Burton). Whittle was the better of the two, playing running back and kick returner, and even scoring the odd touchdown. He has since moved to the US, where he appeared in such shows as The 100 and American Gods.
Martin Johnson - Leicester Panthers
England’s rugby World Cup-winning captain Johnson dabbled with multiple sports in his youth. Before breaking into the first team at Leicester Tigers, he also played for the Budweiser League team Leicester Panthers in 1989. He was a defensive end who was also used at tight end, putting his 6’7 frame to good use. As his rugby career took off he rightly focused on that, but has always retained an interest in American football and after his retirement came back to play for the reformed Panthers in a charity game in 2007 in aid of paralysed Tigers player Matt Hampson.
Dwain Chambers - Farnham Knights
Dwain Chambers was once billed as the next Linford Christie after a promising early career where he achieved a bronze medal in the 100m at the 1999 World Athletics Championships. However, like many of the best sprinters of the early 2000s, he turned out to have been doping. After being banned from athletics he turned his talents to American football, playing wide receiver for Farnham Knights in 2005. He used this platform to build on and was signed by NFL Europe team Hamburg Sea Devils, although never played a game for them as he first broke his foot and then the league was wound up. After this, he gave rugby league a try before eventually returning to athletics.
Roderick Bradley - London Blitz
I wasn’t sure whether to include Bradley in this list, as amongst Britball circles, he is arguably more famous as a Britballer than he was as a Spartan in Sky’s unsuccessful 2008 reboot of Gladiators. Bradley was arguably one of the best British wide receivers of the 00s, winning a Britbowl in 2007 with the London Blitz and playing for Great Britain, having previously captained GB Youth. Meanwhile, I think more people remember the reboot of Gladiators for the silly soft-porn costumes than any actual competition.
Katy Perry - Chester Romans
OK, Katy Perry has never played Britball. But, during the 2008 MTV Video Awards held in Liverpool, she did wear a Chester Romans jersey, after her management reached out to nearby teams to get an American football jersey at short notice: