Eamonn Holmes says former BBC colleagues rallied round to stop him being replaced by Gary Lineker

Speaking to Radio 4, Lynam said: "I like him as a chap, I like him as a broadcaster, but there are some areas he should stay out of.

“For example, this World Cup was in Qatar and he went very strongly about the limitations of living in Qatar - he’s right, there are - but he’s not the right person to say it. Get on with the football!”

Lineker has since addressed Lynam's quote in a tweet which read: "Des is entitled to his opinion…as, of course, am I."

Following the remarks, the GB News panel discussed whether or not Lynam had a point, which prompted a frank discussion about the way the BBC employs former sportspeople in presenting roles rather than professionals in the field of TV.

Akabusi said as the debate began: "I think we've got to be very careful with this Des Lynam thing because actually I think Des Lynam was being interviewed about a lot of things and then got asked about Gary Lineker and to give an opinion, he's got to say something. So this pitting..."

Holmes interjected to point out as well: "And he was very complimentary about Gary, says he liked him as a broadcaster."

"Exactly," Akabusi replied. "So we've got to be very careful pitting these two great broadcasters against each other."

Holmes then explained: "Well, you know, Des is the doyen, Des is the Pope of broadcasting. He is the one if you were any good you wanted to be like because he was the best."

Akabusi agreed: "He knew his subject but he was also very, very smooth, wasn't he? And very laid back.

"I remember Des like you'd remember Des doing his thing, and (he was) very encouraging, very insightful, very warm..."

Delving into how Lineker represented a shift in attitudes after he stepped into the world of hosting, Holmes said: "See Gary Lineker actually changed the way sports representation happened after that because prior to that, there were anchors, people like David Coleman, Frank Bough, Dickie Davies, Des Lynam.

"After Des, it was sports host who anchored all the programmes. You had to have competed at sport at some level or been involved in sport."

Akabusi asked Holmes if he agreed this shift in presenting was a good idea, to which the GB News host replied: "I don't think it's a good idea, particularly on football.

"I think it's very good to have someone who has an interest, say some like myself or yourself who'd be interested in the game and be asked somewhat naive or silly questions at some stage but have the passion of a fan.

"You don't always have to be an expert to present certain stuff."

Akabusi then referenced Steve Cram as the outlier as he'd attended journalism school as well as competed in athletic before admitting he agreed with Holmes' point that being a great sportsman alone doesn't necessarily qualify someone to be a great presenter.

Neesom then chipped in to argue coverage "can get too technical" when sportspeople host and delve into the intricacies of the game during their analysis.

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Holmes did defend Lineker, however, clarifying: "I think Gary Lineker is a very good presenter but the landscape did change when he became (a presenter)."

The GB News presenter then recalled a moment in which Lineker was being put forward to take one of his hosting gigs in the early nineties.

"I used to host snooker for the BBC," Holmes said with a chuckle. "And I was being replaced - they wanted to replace me with Gary Lineker."

However, Holmes revealed those involved with the show Pot Black stepped in to ensure it didn't happen.

He continued: "I was lucky that the snooker players like as a union got together and said, 'No, no, we like Eamonn'.

"And actually it's a tremendous tribute to me that they said, 'No, we want Eamonn to stay,' and they had that power that mean I stayed on hosting snooker which was a great compliment."

The GB News star concluded by branding Lineker a "top man" and refused to ever criticise Lynam following his decorated career in the industry.

Holmes host Pot Black in the earlier nineties after taking over from David Icke.

Other notable Pot Black hosts included the likes of Keith Macklin and Alan Weeks.