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Jonathan Pearce is a well-known sports commentator in the UK
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Pearce has provided the play-by-play for numerous famous matches and is a Match of the Day regular
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Read below for more on Pearce’s career to date
Jonathan Pearce is a long-serving British sports commentator.
From working with Craig Charles on Robot Wars to covering iconic Premier League fixtures on Match of the Day, Pearce’s voice has been heard whether you are regularly checking out football odds or not.
Born in Plymouth in 1959, Pearce is a Bristol City fan and has worked for Channel Five, BBC and BT Sport.
His voice has been the soundtrack to some dramatic live betting moments, covering both World Cup matches and high-profile FA Cup duels for BBC.
Football commentators aren’t always popular. It’s a subjective skill, one which takes years to hone, and even then some are not going to embrace a certain commentary style.
Pearce, though, has stood the test of time, becoming one of the most experienced commentators in the UK. Let’s learn a bit more about Pearce’s career to date and some of his biggest moments.
Career
Jonathan Pearce initially dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. A broken leg halted that ambition.
Instead, Pearce turned to the world of sports media, and took on a broadcasting role with BBC Radio Bristol. The Plymouth native covered Bristol City versus Exeter City for his first match.
It didn’t take long for Pearce to make a name for himself. He was named sports editor at just 23 years old. By 1987, he had made the decision to move east to the capital.
Joining Capital Radio, Pearce was a growing name in the industry and he launched Capital Gold Sportstime just a year later on Capital Gold.
Just as the Premier League was born in the early 1990s, Pearce occasionally featured on Sky Sports.
This was no more than a taster, however, as he only was given relatively minor Premier League fixtures, but it set him up for a role that followed at the BBC.
Across the turn of the century, Pearce’s voice was also heard from on Robot Wars on both BBC and Channel Five.
OTD 95 – "I have never seen as disgraceful an incident as that in all my years in football! Eric Cantona should be thrown out of the game!"
— United Rewind (@unitedrewind) January 25, 2022
Jonathan Pearce has an entirely normal one. pic.twitter.com/gPbd72fcAJ
Pearce had joined Channel Five in 1997, taking on the duties of lead football commentator. His commentary style split opinion during the stint, but that didn’t slow down his career progress as he signed up with the BBC just five years later.
A regular on BBC Radio Five Live, Pearce was part of their commentary team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and hosted Sport on Five between 2003 and 2005.
In 2004, he was given his first opportunity as a Match of the Day commentator.
He has maintained a key role on the BBC’s flagship football programme for the best part of two decades, often being given the responsibility of voicing over the biggest fixtures.
Having found a long-term home with the BBC, Pearce has provided live commentary on numerous FA Cup and League Cup fixtures.
He’s also taken a big role during international tournaments, covering four men’s World Cups, four men’s Euros and two women’s World Cups.
While sport has been the main focus for Pearce, he has dabbled elsewhere as exhibited by his Robot Wars jaunt.
He also provided commentary for Hole In The Wall and his voice was used in several video games, namely Sensible Soccer, Action Soccer and UEFA Striker.
Robot Wars
Not only one of the best football commentators, Jonathan Pearce was synonymous with Robot Wars. On both BBC and Channel Five, Pearce provided commentary of the bouts between 1998 and 2004 and reappeared for the 2016 edition, too.
Every bit as enthusiastic as his football commentary, Pearce’s emotion added to the drama of the programme, and he’s one of only two people (along with judge Noel Sharkey) to appear in every single episode of the show.
Somehow, Pearce enlivened the show, making the show’s fans really buy into the theatre of each duel.
Long-time Robot Wars watchers will fondly remember Pearce’s commentary, whether an underdog pulling off a surprise win or Sergeant Bash going in for the kill.
Prior to the show’s return, Pearce reflected on how much he enjoyed its first run.
"Their people are talking to my people as it were, so that's all I can say at the moment. It ran for a long, long time.
"We did 140/150 episodes over the years and everyone involved was so committed to it. And of all the things I've done…. Robot Wars was so enjoyable."
The Robot Wars years are just as significant in Pearce’s legacy as his play-by-play for high-profile football prediction contests.
Eric Cantona
Jonathan Pearce was commentating for Capital Gold when Eric Cantona kung-fu kicked a football fan in 1995.
Cantona, one of the greatest players in Premier League predictions history, was handed a lengthy ban, and Pearce summed up the disbelief that so many felt in the moment.
“The mad side of genius. Cantona is dismissed! Can there be a place in the game for a man with such extravagant talent and such wicked temperament? A man who has quite rightly been dismissed…
“I have never seen as disgraceful an incident as that in all my years in football. Eric Cantona should be thrown out of the game for that sort of incident.
"I care not one jot about his supreme talent. He launched himself six feet into the crowd and kung-fu kicked a supporter who was, without a shadow of doubt, giving him stick.”
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 22nd March 2022
