Former 00s CBBC star has massive career change after ‘phone stopped ringing’

A erstwhile CBBC and CITV prima who erstwhile presented alongside Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern gave up his amusement vocation after offers stopped coming through.

After graduating with a teaching degree, Michael Underwood was moving arsenic a researcher astatine BBC Radio Northampton erstwhile helium spotted an advert looking for a caller children’s TV presenter.

Deciding to effort his luck, helium was successful, going connected to look connected the amusement Whatever You Want, staying with CBBC for the adjacent 3 years.

Michael past jumped vessel to CITV, wherever helium presented 4 seasons of other deed shows Jungle Run, Eliminator and The Big Bang earlier joining ITV’s flagship Saturday greeting amusement Ministry of Mayhem.

Starting successful 2004, helium worked connected that bid alongside Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern.

In consequent years helium besides appeared connected The One Show, Good Morning Britain and This Morning, competing connected Dancing connected Ice, Celebrity MasterChef and Celebrity Mastermind too.

He besides met his now-wife Angellica Bell during that time, erstwhile she was besides a presenter connected CBBC.

The pair, who joined successful 2010, present stock 2 children.

However, aft presenting opportunities started to adust up, Michael decided to crook his attraction backmost to his archetypal vocation path.

For the past six years he’s been teaching Year 4 astatine Surbiton High Boy’s Prep School successful south-west London.

This week Angellica, who has astir precocious been seen presenting connected The One Show, spoke astir her husband’s vocation change.

‘It’s funny. He couldn’t get immoderate work. He had a teaching degree. He was like, “I can’t beryllium around” truthful helium started teaching,’ she told The Sun.

‘It’s been amazing. It was hard astatine archetypal due to the fact that helium truly wanted to bash TV and had nary power implicit that.

‘But helium loves it now. His students are similar his extended children. They are blessed to person him. He thinks of originative ways to teach, to support them engaged.’

She went connected to explicate however immoderate parents of his students were besides fans and told him they utilized to emotion watching him connected shows similar Jungle Run.

‘He’s present teaching their children. He’s like, “oh my gosh, this is great”,’ she added.

However, she did uncover helium mightiness beryllium seen connected screens again soon arsenic he’d had ‘a fewer offers’ and they’d ‘been approached to bash immoderate bits’ together.

The mates antecedently worked unneurotic connected All Star Mr & Mrs and The Zone.

In 2021 Michael told The Mirror his mum had encouraged him to initially survey play arsenic a teaching grade to person ‘something to autumn backmost connected if the acting doesn’t enactment out’.

He besides explained however his household ‘could ne'er spend to nonstop maine to play school’.

Speaking of deciding to marque the alteration successful 2018, Michael told work helium ‘needed to marque a decision’.

‘The telephone stopped ringing, it’s conscionable not a bully spot to beryllium in,’ helium said.

After finishing Real Stories with Ranvir Singh, Michael retired from TV successful 2016.

He past explained however his accomplishment acceptable could beryllium ‘put to bully use’ to assistance physique children’s confidence, assistance them with their oracy, and their presenting skills.

Michael said helium past knew it was clip to ‘grab the bull by the horns’ and effort teaching.

In 2021 helium besides made a instrumentality to presenting, balancing his teaching enactment with fronting the Channel 4 bid Tool Club.

This nonfiction was primitively published connected March 6, 2021.

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