Tim Lovejoy and Helen Chamberlain look back at Soccer AM: ‘We fought like siblings. She couldn’t stand me and I couldn’t stand her’ | Culture

Tim Lovejoy and Helen Chamberlain are the former hosts of irreverent football and pop culture show Soccer AM. Chamberlain – a Pontins Bluecoat turned Nickelodeon presenter – began on the show in 1995. A year later, she was joined by Lovejoy, a former producer for The Big Breakfast who has fronted Sunday Brunch since 2012. Tim and Helen’s podcast, Soccer A-Z, is available from 4 September.

Tim

This was a full-on showbiz scenario – it felt we had arrived. The shoot was for Marks & Spencer and it was especially exciting because Mary McCartney was the photographer. These were the glory days when I had hair, more specifically a grown-out bleached mullet. I miss it, but not having hair has saved me money. I used to go to the hairdresser a lot – I loved changing how I looked and having a fresh cut.

While I looked cocksure and wanted world domination, inside was an insecure man who was bitter he wasn’t getting bigger breaks. I had no idea I had so much already: the country felt buoyant and Soccer AM had evolved from this small show to a fantastic piece of TV.

Life became a rollercoaster – we booked Noel Gallagher and Ray Winstone, and indie rock stars would call me “Lovejoy”. It went to my head for a bit, an experience that mainly involved buying expensive jeans. And cars. I remember arriving at Stamford Bridge and overhearing someone say, “Look, it’s Tim Lovejoy.” The other person said, “It can’t be – he’s getting out of an Astra.” I felt I had to live up to a celebrity image.

I was producing The Big Breakfast when I got the Soccer AM job. The first change I wanted to make was: get rid of Helen. Her job appeared to be linking to commercial breaks about roadworks, which I wasn’t interested in. Then I met her and I realised, “Holy shit – she knows more about football than I do. We’ve got to keep her.” She was obsessed with lower leagues, passionate, a real fan.

Helen is also such a natural presenter. For the first three months she bailed me out constantly. It was a four-hour live show and sometimes it felt like a battle. Because of that intensity, we became like brother and sister. One week, we had an argument about something stupid right before we went live. She couldn’t stand me and I couldn’t stand her. I turned to the camera and said, “We’ve fallen out, by the way, so I’ve no idea what this show is going to be like.” All was forgotten 30 minutes later.

I like to say Helen is the first woman of football, as for many she was. She was at the coalface of a male-dominated industry. Often, Helen would ask a footballer or manager a question and they would direct their answer at me. She got called “love” a lot, too. These weren’t mean or sexist people – they just weren’t used to it. Helen changed the way women were perceived.

What I’ve learned in my decades on TV is that men don’t get shit and women do. I used to read our letters and emails. I got a lot of “Lovejoy, you’re a wanker” but aside from the odd comment about my hair, nobody judged me on what I looked like. Helen could say the funniest thing ever and someone would write in to say, “I don’t like her shoes.”

After I left Soccer AM, Helen and I stayed in touch. We weren’t friends who went to the pub or anything – she doesn’t drink. But I always remember her birthday and she always forgets mine. I’ll call her, or we’ll meet up. If you go to Helen’s house you are constantly questioning what’s a pet and what’s a general animal: “There’s a massive spider over there. Is that Helen’s?” I went with my kids when they were little, and her dogs came running out and grabbed a rat and started pulling it apart. My beautiful, innocent daughters, exposed to the evils of nature at Helen’s house!

I get mixed emotions looking at this photo. These were brilliant times, but I feel more settled now, a lot less ambitious. At the time I wanted to conquer TV – I had my eye on Saturday night primetime. I was desperate, obsessive, working every hour, six or seven days a week. Now I think, “God, sit back, relax, enjoy life.”

Helen

As this was for an M&S loungewear line, Tim was initially hesitant to agree as he thought they might make him wear shorts, which he felt was off-brand for Soccer AM. However, he also wanted to say that he’d had his photo taken by Mary McCartney. So we did it.

There’s a lot of makeup that doesn’t suit my face and I always found it difficult to sit down with a professional and tell them, “No eyeliner, no Touche Éclat.” I’d often turn up having done my own makeup. On this shoot, the person doing beauty sat me down, put her hand on top of my head and smeared a wet wipe down my face. She took my makeup off and put on a load of black eyeliner. I moaned to Tim, “I look like Ozzy fucking Osbourne.” I was wrong – the photos are beautiful.

Before Tim, Soccer AM was three people sitting there talking about football for four hours. My job was to do links like, “There are cones on the M8 if you’re heading to the game.” Tim thought I was pointless. I was. Thankfully he realised there was also a side of me that was up for the laugh; embracing the nonsense and going along with his bullshit.

I’m going to put this on the record now: I’ve never hit on Tim Lovejoy. For nearly 30 years, Tim has told people that I tried it on with him at a Christmas party. I’ve never been to a Sky Christmas party because they were on a Friday night. I was a pro: Soccer AM was on air at 7am on Saturday, which meant getting up at 5am. Aside from that running joke, I think Tim is a genius. He made a football show that appealed to the whole family. Women would say, “Helen! I don’t like football but my husband does, and I watch it now, too.”

The likes of Anna Walker were really the first ladies of football, but I was probably the first who hadn’t come from a journalistic background. I was just a woman pissing about with the lads. I feel lucky that I never really experienced any hostility. That being said, Tim used to read me the emails. They’d say stuff like, “Can you tell Helen not to try to be funny, because she’s not.” The irony being the joke would have been written by a man.

I don’t think I have changed. While I have physically aged, I’m still a twat. I still don’t take anything seriously.

That person in the photo is having the time of her life. But I am having the time of my life now, too. I just have five dogs, 10 sheep, some llamas, alpacas, ducks, sheep, peacocks and a donkey to look after.