by TV presenter and pundit Dion Dublin has been a regular face on our TV screens for many years. In his early days in football, the former Aston Villa and Manchester United attacker was a prolific goalscorer and even managed to make an appearance for England.
Dion Dublin has had a successful media career with regular appearances on BBC Sport, namely Football Focus, Final Score, Match of the Day. His switch to daytime property show Homes Under The Hammer in 2015 was a surprise, but he is a fan favorite in the hosting line-up alongside Martin Roberts and Martel Maxwell.
When he is not blocking the Dube, the ex-Celtic striker lives a peaceful life in Merseyside and lives a slow pace. But what else do we know about his life away from TV?
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Dion Dublin’s early life and career
Born in Leicester, Dion is the youngest of five brothers from Dublin, his parents coming to England from the West Indies as part of the Windrush generation. His late mother Rose worked as a district nurse and Eddie had the option of becoming a professional footballer.
Dion said: “At one point, my dad had a choice to sign pro forms for Fulham or go on tour. That was the choice. Go professional or go on tour as a bass player with Rod Stewart. It was great amazing He chose to go on tour with Rod Stewart Music was closer to his heart.
“We all play music. I play percussion, my mother, when she was alive, played the mandolin and we have Clem who plays lead guitar. Eddie plays drums, Ash, my older brother is a bass player and Carmen plays it. the keyboards.
“I think if I had taken up percussion earlier I might have gone for it… Percussion is my passion when it comes to music, and it’s something that has come straight from Mom and Dad.”
Dion eventually chose a career in football and joined Cambridge United where he later signed for Manchester United and established himself as one of the best strikers in the Premier League at Coventry City and Aston Villa.
He also had spells with Millwall, Leicester City, Celtic before finishing his career at Norwich City. He was also capped four times for England and missed out on the 1998 World Cup squad against Les Ferdinand.
TV career after football retirement
Dion Dublin followed many of his former teammates and other footballers into punditry, appearing on Sky Sports and the BBC. He covered domestic football as well as Champions League matches and later presented 606.
Dublin regularly features on Football Focus, Final Score, Match of the Day and provides commentary on many live FA Cup matches. Outside of football punditry, he reached the final of Celebrity MasterChef in 2021.
After appearing on TV and radio as a footballer, Dion surprised many when he joined the BBC’s Homes Under the Hammer. He joined the flagship show in 2015 in what was seen at the time as a very strange move for the former Premier League striker.
However, it is based on the show program and is a fan favorite. It went viral on social media when a user put together clips of it often showing the staircase leading to the property’s bedrooms.
Quiet Dublin town life with family
Dion married his wife Cheryl in 2017 and they share a daughter named Ruby Roseanne. The three enjoy flying together on holidays and Dion posts pictures on Instagram of them eating out for meals, flying on planes, and getting healthy days out, such as visiting an alpaca farm and seeing on the Women’s World Cup.
Dion is enjoying life on Merseyside after moving there with his wife, Cheryl, who is from Wirral. They moved to be closer to her family.
He told the Liverpool ECHO how much he loves living in Merseyside: “We uprooted here just over a year ago. It’s a beautiful place, the people are great, normal and polite. Nobody wants anything from you.”
“Obviously the odd picture or autograph, but that’s just par for the course and no one is ever rude. I’ve had a lot of time here and the city is brilliant. I have no doubts about the place and I don’t I absolutely love it.”
The Dubliner spent two years playing for Manchester United and admitted that things can go wrong when the team plays against Cheryl’s favourite, Liverpool FC. He added, jokingly: “They are all Red so we are watching Liverpool vs Man United in separate rooms.”
Apart from football, Dublin has also developed a taste for local food in Merseyside. Commenting on his favorite food spot, he said: “My favorite place to go is the Seafood Shack. It’s a great place. The fish there is crazy.”.
Heartbroken at the loss of a “wonderful” sister.
Dion is extremely close to his relatives and tragically lost the “heartbeat and backbone” of his family in July 2022.
He shared the news that his “wonderful sister Carmen” had sadly passed away when he posted a photo of himself with his late sister and his three brothers, Eddie, Clem and Ash, with the message: “Yesterday we lost our wonderful sister Carmen, the heartbeat. and the backbone of our family. Our hearts are truly broken, we will be lost without you.”
Dion previously spoke to the Mirror about the close bond he shares with his family and recalled fond memories of their time together.
Dion Dublin’s musical invention and love of music
The former Coventry City and Aston Villa striker showed off his creative side when he unveiled his very own musical instrument – The Dube. The instrument has four playable sides each with their own unique sound and is available in four different sizes as well as acoustic and electro-acoustic models.
The percussion instrument can be described as a cross between a Djembe and a Cajon. He previously told the Vice President: “The Dube is a real thing. A lot of people don’t think it looks like a box of wood – which it is – but it’s turned into a very compact, well-made percussion drum with very close, heavy sound and a great addition to percussion and drumming.
“People have to try it and find it out. When people understand, it will start breaking down the doors of the distribution companies. I will put my hand on my heart, I will continue until I have done this enterprise. successful.”
The Dube now has its own website and Dion regularly gives demonstrations and markets the instrument.
