Former CBBC host Michael Underwood says he became a primary school teacher after the ‘phone stopped ringing’

Former TV presenter Michael Underwood has revealed how he has been working as primary school teacher for the past three years.

Mr Underwood, who hosted shows on CBBC and CITV, said he was forced to pursue an alternative career after offers dried up for TV work.

“The phone stopped ringing, it’s just not a nice place to be in,” he told the Daily Mirror.

“I needed to make a decision, I thought you know what I’ve got my teaching degree, I’ve got 20 years in broadcasting behind me, maybe I can take that skill set and put it to good use”.

“Help build children’s confidence, help them with their oracy, their presenting skills, that’s when I thought: ‘Yeah, let’s grab the bull by the horns and maybe take a step out into a different career’".

The former presenter graduated with a teaching degree after his mother advised him that teaching would be good to fall back on if acting didn’t work out.

In the interview, Mr Underwood said he had been working a school in Surbiton, in Kingston upon Thames, after a career in presenting which spanned two decades.

After his stint on children’s TV, Mr Underwood, who is married to presenter Angellica Bell, was an entertainment correspondent on GMTV from 2003 to 2008.

The father-of-two then competed in the 2008 series of Dancing on Ice but pulled out of the show due to a broken ankle.

In 2014, he presented the ITV entertainment series Let Me Entertain You and was also a reporter on the ITV series Surprise Surprise until 2015 and Real Stories with Ranvir Singh until 2016.

Mr Underwood said he is enjoying his change of career and said teaching from home during a pandemic was “almost like being a presenter”.

He added that he does the occasional presenting job for Good Morning Britain but is happy in his current role.

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