Still playing Mr Nice Guy

The scene in Gary Lineker’s Dublin hotel room is much as you’d expect: a hole kicked angrily in the television screen, Hell’s Angels wandering about, Keith Richards passed out in a corner and the main man himself, a bloody scar of unknown origin snaking down the side of his face, screaming at his terrified handlers in between swigs of Wild Turkey straight from the neck.

Ah, no, not really.

In truth, Gary Lineker answering a question through a mouthful of club sandwich is about as hardcore as the going gets, as the former England international-turned-BBC sports presenter is obliged to take his nourishment on the run while negotiating his umpteenth media interview of the morning. And, of course, he does it all with the good grace you’d expect from a man whose nice guy reputation is so well-established that Walkers Crisps — whose new “Deep Ridged” variety, for the record, he is here to promote — have made him the face of a long-running ad campaign in which he is cast as pantomime villain.