Sky Sports legend Chris Kamara has returned to TV screens after more than two years away.
The Soccer Saturday icon, who became renowned for his upbeat style and comic phrases during 24 years working on the show, was chosen by Amazon Prime Video to cover Nottingham Forest’s match with Tottenham in the English Premier League – and joked that he thought he was being offered work as a delivery driver when he first got the call from the streaming giant. Kamara has been off screens since revealing that he had after being diagnosed with apraxia of speech (AOS), a neurological disorder that impairs speech and thought processes in 2022.
Kammy was welcomed back to broadcasting by veteran colleague Jeff Stelling, who spent a quarter of a century anchoring the Sky Sports results show. Speaking to Stelling on Prime, Kamara said: “I have got the best game of the day. When Amazon rang me up I thought that they wanted me to deliver parcels. But they said the game, and I said yes!”
Stelling asked: “Hey Kammy I was going to ask how your health is, but you look like you’re in fantastic health,” and he replied: “I’m great Jeff, to get that call and say I was doing this game was the biggest fill up ever.”
In 2023 Kamara told Talksport: “I woke up one morning and all of a sudden the connection between the brain and the voice went for some reason. So I thought I must have had too many beers last night, it’ll be alright once I get through the day – and it never [was], it stayed there. I kept it from my family, I kept it from the doctors, everybody and carried on as if it wasn’t there.”
“I did find it frustrating and that’s the thing I wouldn’t accept. I was ashamed of my voice. I was stupid and I apologise to everyone out there who’s got a speech defect. I didn’t want it – I didn’t want it anywhere near me but as soon as I’ve accepted it now, my voice doesn’t define me anymore.
Fans on social media were quick to share their delight at welcoming Kammy back to their screens on social media. One posted: “Love to see this, Kammy was a huge part of my Saturday afternoons when watching soccer Saturday growing up great to see him doing so well.” Another said: “What a great thing. Well done to Amazon for making it happen” and a third added: “Brilliant to see! Enjoy your day Chris we can see you are absolutely buzzing to be back and rightly so!”