Shaun Wright-Phillips: The family story behind the former England winger turned Strictly contestant

Shaun Wright-Phillips, the former Manchester City and Chelsea winger who earned 36 England caps across a career spanning two decades, is set to trade the television gantry for the ballroom floor as one of 15 celebrities competing in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Wright-Phillips retired from professional football in 2019 after a career that included 276 appearances and 85 goal contributions across two stints at Manchester City, an FA Cup winner’s medal, and spells at Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and New York Red Bulls. He has since worked as a pundit across ITV, BBC, talkSPORT and Sky Sports.

The mother who kept him going

Before his career took off, Wright-Phillips was raised by his mother, Sharon, in south-east London. When Nottingham Forest released him as a youth player, it was Sharon who kept his ambitions alive.

“I didn’t feel bad that Nottingham Forest let him go,” she said on Manchester City’s official website. “It was just a learning process.”

Wright-Phillips has spoken openly about the work ethic his mother instilled in him. “I put that down to my mum to be honest,” he said. “Even if I was sick, she had to go to work but I would still have to clean the house. I knew whatever I had to do in life, you had to work for it. Nothing comes for free, it all comes from hard work.”

Sharon also recalled the moment her son left for Manchester as a teenager. “When he had to get on that train by himself for the first time, my heart ached,” she said. “Seeing him coping when he didn’t have us around made me feel good. He learnt a lot, he took it with him and he became a man.”

Adopted by an Arsenal legend

Wright-Phillips was adopted at the age of three by Ian Wright, the Arsenal and England striker, after Wright began a relationship with his mother Sharon. The adoption gave Shaun not only a father figure but a direct line into professional football at the highest level.

The pair later had a son together, Bradley Wright-Phillips, who also forged a professional career and played alongside his brother in MLS.

A son following in his footsteps

The footballing thread continues into the next generation. Shaun’s own son has followed him into the professional game, continuing a family lineage that now stretches across three generations of footballers.

With Strictly Come Dancing representing his most public venture since hanging up his boots, Wright-Phillips enters a very different kind of competition — one where the only silverware on offer is the Glitterball trophy.