Jonathan Pearce

Jonathan Pearce
Pearce outside Upton Park, December 2010
Born	(1959-12-23) 23 December 1959 (age 57) Plymouth, Devon, England, UK
Residence	Hassocks, West Sussex, England
Nationality	English
Occupation	Football commentator
Employer	BBC

Jonathan Pearce (born 23 December 1959) is an English football commentator for the BBC. Known for his loud, exuberant commentaries, he has worked for both Radio Five Live and Match of the Day, as well as participating in other lower-profile sports programmes and Robot Wars.

Pearce wanted to become a footballer, but his career was ended after he broke his leg in 1974. He started his career in broadcasting at BBC Radio Bristol, and his first match commentary was Bristol Rovers against Exeter City in the League Cup.

He became a sports editor at the age of 23. In 1987, he moved to London and Capital Radio where he launched Capital Gold Sport a year later. He commentated on a handful of minor Premier League games for Sky Sports in the 1992–93 season, before his Radio 5 Live and Match of the Day career.

Between 1998 and 2004, Pearce commentated on the Robot Wars TV series, on BBC Two and Channel 5, a role he reprised for the rebooted 2016 series.

When Channel 5 (known as Five for some time) was launched in 1997, Pearce was signed as their lead football commentator. His excitable style of commentary received criticism from some quarters. He joined BBC Radio Five Live in 2002 and was part of their 2002 FIFA World Cup commentary team. He went on to present the station's midweek sports programme Sport on Five from 2003 until 2005 and became a commentator for BBC television on Match of the Day in 2004.