Michael Underwood recalls moment BBC fired him on the spot

Underwood shared the story during a Q&A session with followers after someone said “talk about how you went to ITV”.

He said he wanted to stay at CBBC initially but felt he needed to move on after being “fired”.

On making the switch from the BBC to ITV, he assured fans “I’m not a traitor!”

He admitted: “I didn’t want to go to ITV. I loved working at CBBC.

“It’s where I started out. I had so many friends there.

“It was fun going into work every single day. Why would I want to leave?”

He added: “But here’s the thing.

“We had two bosses – there was a boss in charge of the presenters and a boss in charge of the whole channel.

“Now the presenter boss changed and he wanted meetings with all the presenters which wasn’t unusual.

“Also, I was close to a contract renewal so that’s normally when they call you in, talk about more money, more responsibility, that type of thing.

“So I went in for my meeting, sat down and this is how it went, ‘Michael, you’re just coming up to your three years at CBBC, I think you’ve had a great run up to this point but now I think it’s time for you to move on’.”

“I’m sorry, what now? I mean I was gobsmacked.”

TV shows that defined our childhood

Underwood said he “was not expecting it at all” and blanked out as he received the news.

He added that he can’t remember what he said at the time but that he remembers thinking “‘I’ve just been fired.’”

The other boss said he didn’t know the conversation was going to take place.

He went back to the studio and told his now-wife Angellica Bell about the conversations he’d had and she suggested he should move over to ITV.

After taking her advice and calling ITV, he said he was given an opportunity: “They offered twice the money plus three new shows guaranteed, which is an amazing offer but I wanted to stay at CBBC”.

Then in the following January, the same presenter boss called him in for another meeting where he offered him a new one-year contract.

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He said he knew he wasn’t wanted there and was unsure what would happen after the new contract ended.

Michael made the move to ITV and said he was especially grateful as he got to host the iconic children’s TV show Jungle Run.

What is Michael Underwood doing now?

As well as Jungle Run, Michael appeared on shows like Tool Club, This Morning and he took part in Dancing On Ice, reports TV Guide.

While he is known as a TV presenter, he is currently a KS2 form teacher and EDI mentor at King’s College School, Wimbledon.

Newsquest has approached the BBC for comment.

What was your favourite childhood TV show that you watched? Tell us in the comments.