Gary Lineker If you ever see me in the jungle, things have gone massively wrong

He’s television’s Mr Cool, the calm and ever youthful-looking face of the BBC’s sporting coverage.

Be it football, athletics or this evening’s Sports Personality of the Year ceremony, Gary Lineker’s the man for the big occasion.

But as he gears up to host the event from the SSE Hydro, Gary has revealed his concerns over getting old and his amazement at still being at the top of his game 20 years after starting his BBC career. It’s two decades since he hung up his boots after a stellar career, but the former footballer still looks in amazing shape as we catch up for a chat.

He turned 54 a couple of weeks back and, he says, the effects of ageing reach sporting legends the same as anyone else.

“I still feel all right but that number is getting ever larger,” sighs Gary. “It sounds worse than it feels but I can’t say I’m overly thrilled about the fact that I’m approaching my mid-50s. I don’t like working out but I do it, always have done. It makes you feel better about yourself if you look in reasonable shape.

“In this job you’re going into people’s front rooms and even their bedrooms when you’re on TV, so I do consider how I look an important aspect.”

Those boyish looks have always made him a winner with women and there’s certainly a youthful side to domestic life. Wife Danielle, an actress and model, is almost 19 years younger than him. Gary has four boys George, Harry, Tobias and Angus from his 20-year marriage to first wife Michelle, which ended in 2006.

He’s been with Welsh stunner Danielle for the past seven years and they got hitched in a £250,000 ceremony on Italy’s Amalfi coast the same spot where he popped the question five years ago. Danielle has a 12-year-old daughter Ella who lives with them at their plush home in Barnes, south west London.

Like any dad sharing a home with two females he laughingly admits that getting bathroom time for his own personal grooming is “not easy at all but I do my best.”

But he’s obviously bursting with pride about his family and was delighted to be joined by his boys for a pre-birthday night on the town.

“They’re growing up nicely and it was lovely to have them along,” he confides. “We’re hugely close and it’s nice that they’re not embarrassed to go out with me. One was away at school, but the three eldest were there.

“They’re at an age where they socialise, which is great. They’re doing fine.”

Gary’s footballing days with Leicester, Everton, Barcelona, Spurs and Japanese club Grampus Eight saw him amass a tidy fortune. And that has grown and grown, with one estimate putting his wealth at £30 million, although he insists that’s exaggerated.

Regardless of the exact figure, his lucrative BBC deal plus contracts to do similar Match of the Day-style shows for Al Jazeera and America’s NBC network and his £1 million-a-year Walker’s Crisps deal have made him comfortably a multi-millionaire. But being the unflappable figure the Beeb also picks to anchor major sporting events like the Olympics and this year’s Commonwealth Games definitely isn’t how Gary saw things working out.

“Presenting is a difficult occupation in that you don’t get the chance to practise it. When you play football you’ve spent your childhood kicking a ball about and then playing matches at different levels. But with live TV you go in at the deep end.

“It took me a number of years to get used to listening to things in my ear when talking to camera or a guest. In fact, there were certainly times in my first two or three years where I questioned whether I’d be able to crack it. But I wasn’t quite bad enough to really give up.

“Then you start to become comfortable and become yourself. After that, people will ultimately decide if they like you enough. It never gets to me if people don’t like me as one man’s meat is another man’s poison, especially in sports broadcasting. But it’s gone better than I could ever have hoped.”

As affable and easy-going as he seems on screen, Gary is blokey good company. Having somehow never even been booked in his distinguished playing career, which saw him score 330 goals in 567 games, 48 of them for England, it appears nothing gets him riled. Or does it?

“I’ve not really got that much of a temper,” he concedes. “It takes a lot. I can get a bit irate in the car occasionally. A bit of road rage well, not quite road rage but mildly frustrated by people’s inability to drive a car.

“I’m more of a talker than a rager. If something upsets me I’ll just go quiet for 20 minutes. I haven’t got the fiery streak some people have. I generally remain pretty calm.”

Tonight’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony comes from the Hydro with Gary joined by Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and a host of the sporting world’s biggest stars. And he couldn’t think of anywhere better.

“I think it’s entirely appropriate in this of all years, with the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup to name but two, that we’re in Scotland,” he admits. “We’ve gone around the UK over the past few years and it’s a really good chance to come north of the border.”

Gary’s no stranger to Scotland, with weekends in Edinburgh and plenty of golf outings. “My debut for England was coming on as a sub against Scotland, so I’ve got happy memories,” he recalls. “And I was considerate enough never to score against you, so I hope that stands me in good stead for the evening!”

His golfing connections include old Match of the Day pal Alan Hansen, who he says has “earned his retirement” which he’s “thoroughly enjoying”. But though time is ticking on a little, retirement isn’t on Gary’s immediate agenda. Instead he’s enthusing about getting time to don an apron when the family move home shortly.

“It’s taken about two-and-a-half years to renovate our new house but I’m looking to getting into the kitchen. I can cook a bit but I really want to learn to cook well.”

Gary did a one-off MasterChef Sports Relief with Hansen and Mark Lawrenson “we were useless” but any other reality TV outings are a definite no-no, he says.

“If you ever see me in the jungle things have gone massively wrong!” he laughs as he heads off for another, calm and unflappable, Match of the Day.

BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2014 is on BBC One tonight at 8pm.