ITV team set for live return

Ed Chamberlin and Oli Bell are raring to go as ITV prepares to broadcast live horse racing for the first time in more than 30 years.

Spending New Year’s Day away from his family has become almost second nature to presenter Ed Chamberlin.

Having signed a deal to join ITV from Sky Sports earlier this year, Chamberlin will continue that trend by swapping the more familiar surroundings of Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge with a visit to Cheltenham, as horse racing returns to the station for the first time in more than 30 years.

Some may have questioned the popular presenter’s decision to step away from fronting Premier League football in favour of taking on his new role, but it is a move Chamberlin had no hesitation about undertaking.

He said: “It’s incredibly exciting. I absolutely loved my time at Sky. I spent 16 years there and six of them were presenting Super Sunday and Monday Night Football. I didn’t need to leave, as I loved my time there.

“When Niall Sloane (ITV director of sport) got in touch back in January it was just something that I wanted to do. It was the dream job. People have said I am taking a big risk, but it was the easiest decision I’ve ever made.

“I am thrilled and lucky to be part of it.”

Although having an interest from a young age – appropriately watching the sport with his grandfather on ITV’s then-flagship show World of Sport – Chamberlin, unlike a number of his co-presenters, does not have his roots intrinsically tied to racing.

With that in mind – and being the consummate professional that football fans across the country have grown to know he is – he has made every effort to embrace all facets of racing since his departure from the satellite broadcaster.

He said: “My last game for Sky was the bomb scare at Old Trafford for Manchester …

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