Jake Humphrey reveals why he left BT Sport in the summer... as the TV host claims 'the lads-y banter thing' is not for him as he opens up on the abuse he receives on social media

Jake Humphrey has opened up on his departure from BT Sport and reflected on the struggles he dealt with during his time as a host on the channel.

Humphrey, 45, stepped away from presenting Champions League coverage on BT Sport (now TNT Sports) in the summer, having scaled back from hosting their Premier League coverage the year before. 

Since then, he has continued to develop his High Performance podcast, which he co-hosts with Professor Damian Hughes. 

The show - which was launched just three years ago - now has 100 million downloads and its success has also seen live performances regularly sell out, while a second book is set to be published in December.

However, Humphrey explained how his work with the podcast - which aims to bring in guests who have 'lived experience of high performance in various fields' - led to him choosing to depart what was a dream job.

'I have always had this sense that time is going by really fast,' he told The Telegraph.  'And the longer I did the High Performance podcast, the harder I found being a football host. I was not always that comfortable. 

'The lads-y banter thing is not for me. I struggle a bit with the modern world – where firm opinions are the thing we value more than anything.

'I often felt I was doing High Performance all week, and empathy and understanding and leaning into people. 

'Then, on Saturday, I was having conversations about sacking managers and dropping players, criticising decisions made by referees.'

Humphrey is a character that can regularly split opinion, with the broadcaster no doubt hugely successful in his field, but also regularly on the receiving end of abuse from those who don't warm to him.

And the 45-year-old admitted social media criticism hurts him, bringing back memories of when he was bullied at school, but also insisted challenges that people face are what make them who they are. 

'All I can ever do is share what I think,' he added. 'I am not fixed on any of these opinions. (But) when it’s the same messages from the same people, I just feel exactly like I felt when I got bullied at school.

'If I’ve learnt one big lesson from High Performance it is be thankful for all your collaborators. You might think of your first boss, great colleagues, some of the amazing people that have changed the way you view the world. 

'But we also have to look at the people that bullied us, because they built our resilience. I think when stuff is difficult... I do think there is a real value in that.'