Paddy Power hires fired Sky Sports panellists for new social media campaign

Paddy Power has capitalised on the departure of Phil Thompson, Matt Le Tissier and Charlie Nicholas from Gillette Soccer Saturday by launching a new mockumentary with the former Sky Sports trio.

The ‘Pundits’ web series displays the ex-footballers dealing with life after being let go by the broadcaster and focuses on their attempts to set up a rival panel show.

The first episode was released on Saturday to coincide with the start of the new Premier League season, with two further installments to follow, released every Saturday across the bookmaker’s social media channels.

Spokesman Paddy Power said: “The Premier League is back in our lives once again, but there are some familiar faces that won’t be on our screens for the first time in years.

“Or so you thought. We’ve managed to get the gang back together, and we see what their lives are like now as they live together and try to navigate the new world of football.

“We cannot confirm or deny how accurate it is to the truth,” Paddy Power added.

The former panelists were released from their Sky Sports News contracts in August after the channel recruited several new pundits, including Wycombe Wanderers’ striker Adebayo Akinfenwa, to refresh the Gillette Soccer Saturday line-up.

Thompson, Nicholas and Le Tissier also fronted Sky Bet’s ‘three simple tools’ responsible gambling campaign, which encourages Sky Bet punters to use RG tools.

Sky Bet’s three simple tools campaign