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In an exclusive interview, former England striker Peter Crouch has spoken about some of the strangest things he has done since retiring from football.

Crouch was well known for his sense of humour during his playing career, but even he did not imagine that life after retirement would see him turn into a comedy actor.

The ex-forward scored an impressive 22 goals in 42 appearances for England and also became famous for entertaining supporters with his robot goal celebration.

Since calling time on his career in 2019, his easy-going and playful outlook has helped him become the host of his own podcast, while he has also built a career as an author.

Over time, Crouch has also been invited to appear regularly in adverts for betting company Paddy Power, whose tongue-in-cheek take on football matches his own style. That has brought about some unexpected experiences for the former Liverpool striker.

“Only the other week, I was up in a hot air balloon in LA, and it was designed like a pair of pants, looking out over the California countryside – my life is very strange,” he laughed while speaking to FFT.

“I remember being 18 and trying to make my way in the game – if you had told me then that we’d fast forward to me being 45 and floating over vineyards in the California countryside in a pair of pants at a World Cup, I’d have said you were mad.

“There are moments when I look at myself and think, ‘How have I ended up in this situation?’ There was one advert where I was lying in a bath wearing only my underpants, with rose petals in the water, and they were filming me from above – it was basically the American Beauty scene, but with me in the bath. I was thinking, ‘How has this happened?!’

“But it’s all a good laugh. I’ve realised that being shy and reserved doesn’t get you anywhere – you just have to go for it and embrace it.

“When I work with Paddy Power, it’s exactly my sort of humour. It’s very close to what I enjoy – I don’t think football should be taken too seriously. I think I’m fairly good at it as well, so we work well together. I enjoy every minute of it.”

Crouch has joined forces with Danny Dyer and Danny Murphy for Paddy Power’s latest advert ahead of the new Premier League season, titled 'Why The Football Not?', which refers to some of the oddest moments seen in football over the past few months.

There is a reference to Murphy’s long-lost cat Bob, while Crouch recreates Southampton’s notorious Spygate episode outside Middlesbrough’s training ground.

“The Danny Murphy cat situation really amused the nation, and my bit points towards Southampton and what happened there,” Crouch said.

“I’m walking past the tree, and there’s a lad there who looks very, very similar to the man who was actually spying.

“It’s about the strange and wonderful things we love about football – that’s what gives football its magic. I’m no different in the things we try to capture with my podcast, and Paddy Power do that very well.”

Some concepts have even had to be dropped during his time working with the company because they were simply too bizarre.

“There have been loads – Paddy Power come up with them all the time!” Crouch said with a smile. “With certain things, you think, ‘Can we really get away with that?!’ because it gets very close to the bone. Sometimes the closer it is to the bone, the better it is, but it’s a tricky balance.

“I don’t know what I can or can’t say about what they were trying to do, but some of the things they’ve attempted over the years have been outrageous!

“I feel very lucky to be doing what I’m doing. It keeps me involved in the game and it’s great fun.”

There will be more from Crouch in FourFourTwo soon.