Gary Lineker made an unexpected appearance on BBC television, gatecrashing an analysis of England's World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway. This marks his first return to BBC screens approximately 14 months after his controversial exit from the corporation.

Lineker was scheduled to lead the BBC's World Cup coverage as his final engagement with the broadcaster after a 26-year tenure. However, he was removed from his duties in May of the previous year following public backlash related to his social media activity. One particular post, which Lineker stated he shared inadvertently, featured an image of a rat, an symbol that has been associated with antisemitism.

Despite the controversy, Lineker, who was once the BBC's highest-paid presenter, issued an unreserved apology for the incident. He ultimately departed the BBC at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.

For the current World Cup, Lineker has been based in New York, hosting "The Rest Is Football" podcast. His firm, Goalhanger, produces the podcast, with daily episodes released on Netflix under a reported £14 million deal.

Micah Richards, who has been involved with both "The Rest Is Football" and BBC's tournament coverage, was providing analysis for the BBC's reaction program following England's 2-1 win against Norway. Lineker, wearing an England jersey, entered the studio and placed his arm around Richards' shoulder.

"Definitely a penalty," Lineker declared, drawing laughter from the studio. Richards responded humorously, pursing his lips and turning his head toward Lineker. Host Jason Mohammed joked, "Look who's turned up." Lineker added, "Definitely a penalty, come on England," eliciting further laughter and stating, "Nice to see you all there." The brief cameo concluded with Wayne Rooney making a jest about Lineker's attire.

This appearance on the BBC follows a prior surprise guest slot Lineker made on ITV's World Cup coverage during the group stage, where he commented on the BBC's decision to base its operations in Salford.

During his appearance on ITV, Lineker humorously opened the program, apologizing for falling into "old habits." He then contrasted ITV's studio overlooking the Manhattan skyline with the BBC's facility at Salford's MediaCity. Lineker, who was at Times Square for his Netflix show, expressed his admiration for ITV's set, confirming its reality. He remained on the ITV coverage for 20 minutes, jokingly questioning if he had failed an audition, to which host Laura Woods quipped that passing would mean getting his job.

Lineker joined a temporarily expanded panel on ITV, which included Duncan Ferguson, Gary Neville, and Ian Wright, as a special guest.