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Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell (born 29 April 1966) is an English former international and current television and radio personality.
A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, he played in 42 Test cricket and 20 One Day Internationals for the England cricket team, as well as playing for Middlesex County Cricket Club from 1986 to 2002. Tufnell took 121 Test match wickets. His Test average is 37.68 per wicket. Across all first-class cricket he took over 1,000 wickets at an average of 29.35. His cheerful personality and behaviour have made him a popular sports personality. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
Following his retirement from playing cricket in 2002, Tufnell has built on his popularity with several television appearances, including They Think It's All Over, A Question of Sport, Strictly Come Dancing, Strictly Come Dancing: Phil Tufnell out, Ronnie Corbett in and Jade Johnson injured. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 June 2010 and winning I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2003.
According to Michael Parkinson, a chat show host and cricketer, "at the age of nine he was opening the bowling and the batting for his club's junior team". Parkinson also believes that his "ordinary fielding made him a luxury in the view of the ... English management circa". He was not at all an accomplished or confident batsman, often appearing particularly nervous and awkward at Test level, where he became regarded as the ultimate 'rabbit' number 11, Tufnell's fielding improved during his career. He was nicknamed "The Cat" due to his propensity to be found sleeping in the corner of the dressing room. He also acquired the nickname "Two Sugars" due to his well-known love of tea. According to England teammate Mike Atherton, Tufnell smoked quite heavily.
During his career spanning 16 years with Middlesex, Tufnell took 1,057 first-class wickets in the English game at an average of 29.35.
Tufnell received an Honorary degree from Middlesex University on 20 July 2011 in recognition of his achievements in sport and the media.
Tufnell was a team captain on the BBC One panel show A Question of Sport. He also made regular appearances as a reporter on the BBC One magazine show The One Show.
On 12 April 2008, Tufnell and his wife Dawn appeared on the ITV game show All Star Mr & Mrs. On 4 October and 1 November 2008, Tufnell appeared on the game show Hole in the Wall. In 2009, he competed in the seventh series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, partnering professional dancer Katya Virshilas. The couple were eliminated in the ninth week. On 7 October 2011, he appeared on the BBC One panel show Would I Lie To You?, where he claimed to have recurring dreams in which he is a potato, being chased by a pitchfork. On 19 November 2011, he appeared on a celebrity edition of ITV quiz show The Chase.
In 2012, he co-presented The Flowerpot Gang with Anneka Rice and Joe Swift. During the week of 12 to 16 May 2014, he appeared on the daytime Channel 4 game show Draw It! On 1 February 2015, he competed in Get Your Act Together on ITV and The Jump on Channel 4. In December 2018, he joined Australia's Seven Network as a guest commentator for their coverage of the BBL and Sri Lankan Test matches. In 2023, he appeared in I'm a Celebrity... South Africa.
In 1997, while on a tour of New Zealand, allegations emerged that he left a toilet cubicle of a restaurant trailing the scent of cannabis but he was exonerated with the incident being a publicity stunt.
Tufnell was the president of a cricket charity – The Change Foundation (formerly Cricket for Change) up to 2022. He is an ambassador of UK children's charity The Children's Trust for children with brain injury and neurodisability. The Children's Trust Retrieved 18 June 2010
Tufnell is a fan of Arsenal Football Club.
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