A Kids TV icon from the 90s and 00s has undergone a surprising career change after admitting work dried up.10:58, 25 Jul 2026Once a household name in children's TV, an ITV legend gave it all up for a very rewarding job.‌Former presenter Michael Underwood, 50, is perhaps best known for his work on CBBC and CITV and had been on screens since he was just 15 years old.‌He started his career as a temporary CBBC presenter before becoming entertainment correspondent for the ITV Breakfast programme GMTV.‌His ITV career continued to flourish with Let Me Entertain You on Saturday nights and the shows Surprise Surprise until 2015 and Real Stories with Ranvir Singh.However in 2020, due to a lack of work amid the Covid-19 outbreak, he announced he was going to retire from presenting and become a teacher.By 2024, he had started a full-time role as a teacher at a school in Wimbledon.‌The star, who is married to presenter Angellica Bell and has two children, has been in his current role for almost two years.He had studied teaching at Plymouth University in the late 90s and was keen to put his degree to good use.‌Underwood shared a newspaper clipping on his Instagram page back in 2021, when he spoke to The Mirror about the 'Help a Child to Learn' campaign.He said at the time: "Having recently changed career to become a teacher (well it's been three years now), I understand the challenges we face everyday."I've witnessed the fantastic work teachers do, no matter which school they are teaching at or whom they are teaching.‌"Like them, I want to challenge and inspire the next generation. It can be a very difficult profession, especially for those who don't have sufficient funding or resources."However, it's incredibly rewarding and you really can make a difference, no matter how small."‌Fans flocked to the comments to support the star in his new role and they reminisced about his golden days on TV.He too recently reflected on his kids TV career, after another Instagram page posted a clip of him from his time presenting Jungle Run.The video was captioned: "Michael Underwood has NO chill", and it showed the presenter slamming the team's "dismal" attempt at one of the games.Article continues below"What are you doing? Stop messing about!" he had told the youngsters and on reflection, he joked in his caption: "This is why I never won a Children's BAFTA!"Thank you to @th0tstv for posting this. I don't remember being so harsh. Very funny watching it back though. There were so many times I was 'keeping it real' on that show."At the height of his career he hosted The Big Bang, Eliminator, Starfinder and Ministry of Mayhem.