The former Aston Villa and England-capped footballer Dion Dublin is joining the BBC One hit daytime show 'Homes Under The Hammer'. The property show, broadcast weekdays at 10am, features homes which are bought under the hammer and then renovated to see if a profit or loss is made from buying at the auction.
Dion Dublin will join regular presenters Martin Roberts and Lucy Alexander who will travel around the country meeting up-and-coming developers and their plans for the homes bought under the hammer. The announcement today by the BBC has seen Dion Dublin trending on Twitter.
BBC Sport tweeted that Dublin "swaps Football for houses as he joins the Homes Under The Hammer team!" Richard Osman, co-presenter of 'Pointless' posted on Twitter "This news that Dion Dublin is joining 'Homes Under The Hammer' is going to take a lot of heat out of the Clarkson announcement."
Dublin says that he has a "passion for property" and is "thrilled" to be joining Martin and Lucy as the show enters its 19th series. Even as a footballer, Dion had a strong interest in property having bought, sold and invested, the BBC said.
'Homes Under The Hammer', produced by Lion Productions, has been a fixture of the BBC One daytime lineup for over a decade, regularly winning in its 10am slot.
Executive producer for Lion Television Scotland, Lisa Hazelhurst, welcomed today's announcement. She said: "Dion's enthusiasm for property is infectious and we're really excited he is joining Homes Under The Hammer, which has proved such a hit with audiences for more than a decade."
'Homes Under The Hammer' first launched on BBC One back in May 2003.
Its popularity has seen a significant increase in the number of episodes ordered, originally 30 back when it first launched, up to 80 new episodes last year. The show is often repeated on UKTV's Home channel.