He was recently unveiled as the grandfather clock on the latest episode of The Masked Singer UK.
And Glenn Hoddle admitted that a near-fatal heart attack on his 61st birthday in 2018 spurred him on to take part on the show after he vowed to make the most of every opportunity.
In a new interview, the former footballer and England manager, 63, told how he was ‘lucky to be here’ after his he ‘died for 60 seconds’ following an appearance on weekly morning show Saturday Morning Savage.
Opportunity: Glenn Hoddle admitted that a near-fatal heart attack on his 61st birthday in 2018 spurred him on to take part on the show after he vowed to make the most of every opportunity
Speaking to The Sun, Glenn said: ‘Looking back at what happened, there’s certain things in my life where I think, “yes, if I get an opportunity I’m going to do it”.
‘When this opportunity came up that was one of the reasons why I did it. I thought, “Why not?”.
‘With what happened to me, I’m lucky to be here. Why not experience all these things? And that was part of the judgment on whether to go on The Masked Singer or not.’
Glenn also spoke of his worries of being placed inside a hot, claustrophobic costume amid his health issues.
Surprise! He was recently unveiled as the grandfather clock on the latest episode of The Masked Singer UK
He went on to say that he was a ‘slightly worried’, but made himself push his doubts to the ‘back of my mind’, adding it was ‘difficult’ under the mask.
He added that everything was fine but ensured that he wouldn’t have ‘taken any risks’ when it came to his health.
Glenn’s heart attack saw him collapse on the BT Sports set towards the end of a broadcast on October 27 2018 and was immediately taken to hospital and subsequently underwent surgery.
A member of the BT Sport production crew, special constable Simon Daniels, used his first aid training to help Glenn in the moments after he collapsed.
‘Lucky’: In a new interview, the former footballer and England manager, 63, told how he was ‘lucky to be here’ after his he ‘died for 60 seconds’ following an appearance on weekly morning show Saturday Morning Savage
Second chance: ‘With what happened to me, I’m lucky to be here. Why not experience all these things? And that was part of the judgment on whether to go on The Masked Singer or not’
On Saturday’s show, none of the judging panel, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Mo Gilligan, or Rita Ora, guessed his identity correctly, despite all suggesting footballers.
However, the commentator told how his little grandchildren clocked it was him ‘straight away’, adding that the youngsters had asked ‘Is that Popa?’ while watching the show.
Following his performance on Saturday, Glenn admitted that he was ‘nervous’ to take to the stage.
Worries: He went on to say that he was a ‘slightly worried’ about being inside the costume, but made himself push his doubts to the ‘back of my mind’, adding it was ‘difficult’ under the mask
Following his first performance, the former England manager told ITV: ‘I was so nervous and the heat was incredible.’
The BT Sport pundit discussed the inspiration behind his appearance as he explained: ‘I wanted to share the news with my children and grandchildren as I knew they’d love it. I’ve had to bite my tongue on a few occasions.
‘I thought I was going to be OK as I have performed live before but this was a totally different experience and well out my comfort zone.
Close call: Glenn’s heart attack saw him collapse on the BT Sports set towards the end of a broadcast on October 27 2018 and was immediately taken to hospital and subsequently underwent surgery (pictured shortly before his heart attack)
Hero: A member of the BT Sport production crew, special constable Simon Daniels, used his first aid training to help Glenn in the moments after he collapsed (pictured shortly before his heart attack)
‘I had some great songs lined up if I was able to continue but overall I loved the experience and just happy to have taken part.’
The former Chelsea midfielder also touched on his designing his costume as he added: ‘I was fully involved. I had a couple of options but just felt this was perfect, especially when I saw the costume close up. The attention to detail was fantastic.
‘It was a little restrictive, so I wasn’t able to move as freely as I would have liked for a song or two but it was amazing.’
Survivor: Following his first performance, the former England manager told ITV: ‘I was so nervous and the heat was incredible’