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Throughout this series of The Celebrity Traitors, the British public has fallen in love with what rugby fans knew long before: the charm, wit, and irrepressible mayhem of Joe Marler.
Maybe it's no surprise that a man well-versed in the dark arts of rugby would fit in on a show where deviousness is prized. Game recognises game.
Going into the final episode tonight, he appears convinced that Alan Carr and Cat Burns are the two traitors left standing, a deduction which is correct.
There's an everyman appeal about Marler, a blokeish charisma which suggests he might rock up to the pub at any moment, settle his rump on the stool next to you, and have a chinwag about the series - or the gigantic model bear he has in his garden.
There's also the searing wit and jokeyness which makes him so entertaining: muttering 'most ridiculous bow-out ever' after Jonathan Ross' theatrical exit, for example, or his 'zombie walk' over the rickety bridge.
And it's exactly that personality which shone through during his rugby career (which admittedly courted controversy, too) until his retirement last year. Sometimes it went too far. His eventful career encompassed three Six Nations titles, two Premiership crowns, and one testicles-grabbing incident (apologies to Alun Wyn Jones).
Joe Marler has captured the hearts of the nation on The Celebrity traitors - but rugby fans already knew about his antics long before
The Daily Mail has had many amusing run-ins with Marler down the years; here, he tries a Japanese toastie containing multi-coloured cheese
There was rarely a boring interview. How, previewing a Harlequins face-off against Bath, did he end up doing an impression of a 'slightly Irish horse' (if you do anything today, please watch that clip)?
Who else would describe themselves as looking like a 'melted wheelie bin'?
And what other athletes would turn a player of the match interview into a meta critique of broadcasting? 'This is a token thing, isn't it?' he said, gesturing at his medal after being crowned best player against Bath one time. 'I know the secrets. other players were better tonight but they're not happy to talk on camera, so this is a fraud basically.'
Maybe he was right. After all, you could always count on Marler to produce an amusing moment. He didn't even have to speak. His face was often a pantomime of emotion when he was being asked questions, his expressions cycling through confusion, shock, irony, and amusement for no apparent reason as journalists muddled through their words.
You get the sense that, were he a footballer, Marler would have gone much more viral. In some ways, being a rugby player, with its less formal media commitments, allowed him to be more unshackled. But could even the Premier League media train this man?
It's hard to imagine so because Marler always speaks his mind. In 2019, Exeter scrum half Nic White found out the hard way as he dilly-dallied over a box kick.
'You’re f****** boring me, hurry up,' bellowed Marler, and luckily for us the BT Sport microphones picked it up.
He became popular for his wind-ups and frivolity in the face of tradition. In 2019, Marler crossed the halfway line during New Zealand's haka before their World Cup semi-final - something you just don't do.
He played rugby with a smile and conducted his interviews in the same way, though was not averse to indulging in the dark arts
Joe Marler's 'Irish horse' quote
Previewing a match against Bath in 2019, Marler said: 'We've got another week to get back on the horse [after a defeat]. Take that horse to the water, and you can ask that horse, "hey horsey, do you want to have a drink or do you want to swim?"
'It is up to that horse to then realise what he wants to do in his life and that horse at the moment wants to go out on Saturday. And he wants to clippety-clop all the way to the Stoop and he say hello to those fans and he goes “I’m sorry about the result last week but I’m going to give a better performance here at home against Bath.
'He is a slightly Irish horse. So we are looking forward to getting back on that horse.'
Are you excited to get back on that horse?
'I don't like horses. I can't ride.'
England copped a £2,000 fine and his team-mates claimed he'd be paying it on the Jonathan Ross Show. 'Am I? 'came the nonplussed reply.
In 2024, he went in even harder on the haka, claiming it was 'ridiculous' and 'needs binning' before subsequently apologising.
Sometimes those antics crossed the line. In 2017, he was reprimanded for a spat with England team-mate James Haskell after squirting water in his face and pulling at his scrum cap (his opponent called it 'choking') during a Harlequins win over Wasps.
In 2016, he was banned for two games by World Rugby and docked £20,000 - not an insignificant sum in the game's financial climate - for branding Wales forward Samson Lee a 'Gypsy boy'. Lee has a Traveller background and Marler apologised but denied being racist.
A good friend of the Mail, even we were whipped by his sarcasm one time. After legendary writer Charles Sale provided a cutting review of England's less-than-salubrious media facilities, Marler mocked him on Twitter, writing: 'You're right Charles my bread wasn't even buttered for my bacon roll and no one was there to uncap the ketchup!'
One man who won't forget Marler in a hurry is Alun Wyn Jones. In 2020, the Wales captain suffered the indignity of the England prop fondling a part of his body where the sun doesn't shine.
With England and Wales' stars involved in a scuffle, Marler looked the other way as he embarked on his reacharound, seemingly in a bid to antagonise his opponent, and was subsequently given a 10-week ban.
At least he has a creative way of dealing with any bad blood. 'I have a love-hate relationship with the Welsh. I love them, and they hate me. Can I blame them? No, I can't,' he once wrote in a Daily Mail column.
Marler cuddles a micro pig in Japan and once raved about the 'unbelievable' toilets there
'When Welsh people come up to me and have a pop, I sometimes tell them a little pork pie and say I'm half Welsh because I want them to like me. I've been cold-water swimming in Snowdonia and it was fantastic. I ate Welsh cakes, too. It's a lovely country with lovely people but when it comes to rugby we just seem to dislike each other.'
Rugby fans will admit that this sort of 's***housery' made Marler who he is. If you want any of Marler, you have to open the floodgates to all of Marler.
The sport profited by how open and insightful Marler was during his playing career. Last year, he kept an exclusive diary for the Daily Mail giving granular-level detail about England's tour in Japan.
That included going to ninja school, enjoying the East Asian lavatories ('the toilets in Japan are unbelievable... I'll have to invest in one'), cuddling micro pigs, and chowing down on a toastie filled with multi-coloured cheese.
Could he have a future in stand-up? Potentially. He certainly has the quick wits. Unimpressed at referee Andrew Small's footwear in one match, he quipped: 'Are you wearing those boots for a bet?'
Another time, there was a whiff of Jimmy Carr about him. 'When [are] you sorting that barnet out,' a detractor once asked him on Twitter. Marler clapped back: 'When your mum sits on my face.'
Okay, maybe the comedy can wait. Perhaps broadcasting? He only recently quit his podcast, Joe Marler's Things People Do, after five years.
As the title suggested, he brought on guests with random jobs to hear about the wacky things they do. We've heard from zookeepers, a former ecstasy trafficker, a bank penetration tester, and learned what happens when a pilot needs a number two mid-flight.
Marler has spoken openly about his mental health and hosted a podcast for a few years
In 2023, Marler launched a mock OnlyFans page for pictures of his feet
Marler was only joking, but dubbed his feet '9/10' and invited fans to 'get their hands' on them
Or maybe OnlyFans would work out. Don't forget that in 2023, he launched a mock page on the smutty site selling pictures of his feet, advertised by a tongue-in-cheek erotic promotional video.
'9/10 certified by a foot health specialist. Want to get your hands on these trotters? Well now you can. Head on over to @JoseMalaTrotters on onlyfans.com,' he joked.
When he's not goofing around, Marler does have a serious side. He has been one of sport's stronger advocates for talking about mental health. He played the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, which England lost to South Africa, on anti-depressants.
On occasion he would cry while driving to training with Harlequins, the club which loved him and which he loved. One time he got home and smashed up the kitchen after a run-in with a squirrel while driving.
'I snapped. We got home and I just spiralled and lost control. I turned over the kitchen, punched in one of the doors,' he told the Guardian.
'Then I got in the truck and drove off. I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. But it was a massive turning point because it was the most ashamed I’ve ever been.
'I didn’t recognise who I was any more. After 30 minutes I came back because I was running out on everything good in my life. Daisy [his wife] was crying and I was worried she was scared.'
Fortunately, a psychiatrist called Humphrey helped him get back on track and he has gone on to be an ambassador for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).
Eclectic, chaotic, unpredictable, combustible. If he's one thing, Joe Marler is unashamedly himself. Traitors fans, you've only seen the tip of the iceberg. And something tells me that tonight's finale won't be the last you hear from him.
