Gary Lineker kept a smile for the cameras as he was papped outside his house earlier this week.
All attention was on the football pundit, 62, after a tweet he shared slamming the Tory government's proposed immigration policy went viral.
Gary, who has previously housed two refugees, compared the language used to discuss proposed Illegal Immigration Bill as that used in 1930s Germany.
In the now-viral tweet, Lineker wrote: "There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.
"This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the ’30s."
The viral tweet was praised by many – but some criticised Gary, who works on BBC show Match of the Day, and claimed he had breached the publicly-funded broadcaster's impartiality guidelines.
However, Gary stood by his tweet and held his head high when he was questioned about the post outside his London home earlier this week – as questions about his future at the BBC were raised.
Things soon took a turn when it was announced the football commentator had been told by the BBC to "stand down" for the weekend's Match of the Day stint, with the news causing an uproar amongst the public with fellow commentators and sports presenters at the BBC boycotting shows and celebrities sharing support for Gary this weekend in solidarity.
The Mirror has launched a petition to have Gary Lineker reinstated at the BBC and as the host of Match of the Day . Sign it here .
Since the BBC's announcement, Gary has remained silent on the matter. But, now his son has spoken out and revealed his former England player dad has found the week "hurtful" and "overwhelming".
Gary's son George Lineker told the Mirror in an exclusive interview: "This week has been very overwhelming, and I do think it has been hurtful for Dad. But all the support he has received has made him feel a lot better and I know he has no regrets."
George, 31, said his dad put on a brave face after he initially found out he had been asked to "stand down" from the show.
The pundit's son reached out to his dad via text, with Gary replying with a thumbs up emoji.
But, Gary later broke down when he learned his fellow MOTD commentators Ian Wright and Alan Shearer had refused to take part in the programme.
George explained: "After it all kicked off, me and my brothers messaged him saying: 'We're proud of you' and he replied: 'Cheers boys' with a thumbs up emoji.
"Later he told us that he'd been so overwhelmed by the support. He wrote: 'Shearer and Wrighty backing down made me emotional, it means a lot to me.'
"I think he did cry when he found out about that. The support has been a positive thing to come out of this.
"I've been messaging him today, just saying: 'How are you doing Dad, how are you holding up?' And he replied: 'All good'."
