Gary Lineker's new game show The Box is branded 'moronic', 'inane' and 'deserving of a red card' as it's savaged by critics

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 05:30 EDT, 7 September 2026 | Updated: 06:15 EDT, 7 September 2026 Gary Lineker's new game show The Box has been savaged by critics, with the show being branded 'moronic' and 'inane' in a slew of scathing reviews. The game show sees ten celebrities - including TOWIE's Joey Essex, GMB host Ranvir Singh and former House Of Commons speaker John Bercow - thrown into mystery locations to take on a range of different tasks with little to no instructions. The Gary-fronted show's synopsis reads: 'Brand new game show hosted by Gary Lineker. Plunged into the unknown while enclosed in a box, ten celebrities emerge in mystery locations to face their fears in tricky challenges.'Gary left Match Of The Day, which he hosted from 1999 to 2025, in a shroud of controversy after he shared a post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat -imagery historically used as an antisemitic insult.His big move has landed him on The Box, which debuted on Saturday, and has been met with revolt - as The Daily Mail's Christopher Stevens called the show 'spectacularly ill-conceived, tasteless, moronic, dull and infantile'.He writes: 'Throughout all this, the Boy Lineker hung around on the edges with nothing to do but shout vague instructions through a megaphone. He had no jokes, no patter, no personality and no reason to be there... Gary Lineker's new game show The Box has been savaged by critics, with the show being branded 'moronic' and 'inane' in a slew of scathing reviews The game show sees ten celebrities - including TOWIE's Joey Essex, GMB host Ranvir Singh and former House Of Commons speaker John Bercow - thrown into mystery locations to take on a range of different tasks with little to no instructions The Box: THE REVIEWS DAILY MAIL - Zero StarsRating:Nothing I say is going to convince you how spectacularly ill-conceived, tasteless, moronic, dull and infantile this show is. You might think Gary, given how vocal he is about illegal migrants, might have more sense than to front a game show about people being crammed inside containers, loaded onto lorries and driven around the country. INDEPENDENT - Two Stars Rating:In this scattershot, confounding show, a set of celebs are released from yellow boxes to take on baffling tasks. Lineker is a likeable host, but he might have been more selective for his first post-MOTD foray into primetime.There's no real narrative here, no stakes and very little sense of momentum. It's not even particularly fun watching the stars go through minor humiliations, as each challenge feels slight and forgettable. What was Gary thinking?THE GUARDIAN - Three Stars Rating:The Box isn't so much a gameshow as a sustained howl of existential confusion. A gameshow that scoffs in the face of convention yet seems bewildered by the bedlam that such showmanship inevitably unleashes. A gameshow in which John Bercow bellows 'Orderrrrrr!' while showing us his nipples. THE TELEGRAPH - Three Stars Rating:Who knew that [footballer Graeme] Souness would be the hero we needed? He calms a panicking Ranvir [Singh] when she struggles with a water-based task; he gives away the tokens which could give him an advantage in the game. The women are soon cooing over him being a silver fox. He does more for his personal brand in this hour of nonsense than in 15 years of sports punditry. 'I never thought I'd say this but this is one format that could actually be improved by Phillip Schofield. It would still be atrocious dross but at least he had the ability to pretend he actually cared about the shows he presented.'His zero star review was followed by two stars from Katie Rosseinsky at The Independent, who mused over why he would choose this as his Match Of The Day follow-up, as she queried: 'What was he thinking?'She writes: 'In this scattershot, confounding show, a set of celebs are released from yellow boxes to take on baffling tasks. Lineker is a likeable host, but he might have been more selective for his first post-MOTD foray into primetime.'The Guardian meanwhile gave a more forgiving three stars, however Sarah Dempster still branded the show a 'sustained howl of existential confusion.'She writes: 'A gameshow that scoffs in the face of convention yet seems bewildered by the bedlam that such showmanship inevitably unleashes. A gameshow in which John Bercow bellows 'Orderrrrrr!' while showing us his nipples.' The Guardian meanwhile gave a more forgiving three stars, however Sarah Dempster still branded the show a 'sustained howl of existential confusion'Prior to the show hitting screens, Gary said: 'It's different - it's something I've never done before, which appealed to me, alongside the unique nature of the concept...'It's fun, it's family friendly and it's great primetime telly. What's not to like?'He later added: 'I can't wait to host The Box. I've always felt right at home in the box on a football pitch and whilst this is a different proposition, the fundamentals are similar.''The contestants will have to quickly and masterfully work out how each game works, whilst also trying to get ahead of the competition to take control.''It's going to be unpredictable and thrilling to watch, and I'm excited that I get to have a front row seat to all the action.'Gary has also scored a Netflix deal to host The Rest is Football which expanded from his Goalhanger podcast into a streaming series during the 2026 World Cup and returned for the Premier League season.