Who Is Shaun Wright-Phillips? Strictly Exit, Age, Son and Ian Wright
Shaun Wright-Phillips is a 45-year-old former England winger who was voted off Strictly Come Dancing on 25 October 2026, the day he turned 45. The adopted son of Arsenal legend Ian Wright, he won the Premier League with Chelsea and is the father of Beerschot winger D’Margio Wright-Phillips.
Why is Shaun Wright-Phillips trending?
Searches for him jumped after the Strictly results show on Sunday 25 October, when he became the fourth celebrity to leave the 2026 series.
Why did Shaun Wright-Phillips leave Strictly?
Shaun Wright-Phillips left Strictly because he and professional partner Alexis Warr finished bottom of the leaderboard with 17 points for their jive, then lost the dance-off to Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu. Anton Du Beke had the casting vote and chose to save Jaime and Carlos.
The judges were split. Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse backed Jaime’s foxtrot to Man I Need by Olivia Dean, while head judge Shirley Ballas wanted to keep Shaun after he repeated his jive to Faith by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande. Next week’s Halloween show brings Strictly’s first ever triple dance-off, with the three lowest-scoring couples dancing again.
Shaun’s Strictly 2026 scores, week by week
| Week | Dance | Song | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha | Lil Boo Thang, Paul Russell | 15 |
| 2 | Salsa | You Should Be Dancing, Saturday Night Fever | 25 |
| 3 | Quickstep | I’m a Believer, The Monkees | 15 (bottom two) |
| 4 | Couple’s Choice | I Got You (I Feel Good) and Get Up Offa That Thing, James Brown | 28 |
| 5 | Jive | Faith, Stevie Wonder ft. Ariana Grande | 17 (left after dance-off) |
His best night came in week 4, when four 7s for the James Brown Couple’s Choice gave him 28. It was the only time all four judges gave him the same mark.
I couldn’t ask for a better partner, a better human being. I wish I could have taken you further.
Shaun Wright-Phillips to Alexis Warr after leaving Strictly, 25 October 2026
Who was Shaun Wright-Phillips’ Strictly partner?
His professional partner was Alexis Warr, a 26-year-old returning Strictly pro. After the exit she praised his attitude, saying his resilience was “so admirable” and that the pair would be “friends for life”. Asked whether he would keep dancing, Shaun replied: “Oh, hell yeah!”
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How old is Shaun Wright-Phillips?
Shaun Wright-Phillips is 45. He was born on 25 October 1981 in Greenwich, south-east London, and is of Trinidadian and Grenadian descent.
How old was Shaun Wright-Phillips when…?
Is Shaun Wright-Phillips Ian Wright’s son?
Yes, by adoption. Ian Wright adopted Shaun when he was three, while in a relationship with Shaun’s mother, Sharon Phillips. That is why he carries both surnames. Ian, the former Arsenal and England striker, has always called Shaun his son.
Many people search for Shaun’s “real dad”. Ian Wright is the father who raised him, and Shaun has never spoken publicly about his biological father, so we do not name anyone.
Who is Shaun Wright-Phillips’ brother?
His younger brother is Bradley Wright-Phillips, the son of Ian Wright and Sharon Phillips, born five years after Shaun. Bradley also became a striker and is the all-time top scorer for the New York Red Bulls, the club where the brothers briefly played together in 2015.
Does Shaun Wright-Phillips have children?
Yes. His son D’Margio Wright-Phillips was born on 24 September 2001 in Manchester, during Shaun’s first spell at Manchester City. D’Margio is a right winger like his dad. He came through the City academy, played for Stoke City and joined Belgian club Beerschot in 2024, and he won England caps at under-16 and under-17 level.
Shaun talks about “my kids” but keeps the rest of his family life private, and apart from D’Margio he has not publicly named his children. Before the first live show he joked that his children were “used to seeing me dance at parties, but this will be the first time they’ve seen me dance while sober!”
Is Shaun Wright-Phillips married?
Shaun Wright-Phillips has never publicly named a wife or partner, and no reliable report confirms that he is married. Names that appear on some websites are not backed up by any interview or official source, so we have left them out.
How did Shaun Wright-Phillips go from “too small” to a £21 million signing?
Nottingham Forest released him as a teenager because they thought he was too small. In Manchester City’s documentary about his career he remembered it as “my first mental challenge”. The same scout who had taken him to Forest then got him a trial at City, and by 2005 he was in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
City named him their Young Player of the Year four seasons in a row. In July 2005 Chelsea paid a reported £21 million for him. He won the title in his first season at Stamford Bridge, returned to City in 2008, moved to QPR in 2011 and finished his career in the United States.
| Years | Club |
|---|---|
| 1999 to 2005 | Manchester City |
| 2005 to 2008 | Chelsea |
| 2008 to 2011 | Manchester City |
| 2011 to 2015 | Queens Park Rangers |
| 2015 to 2016 | New York Red Bulls |
| 2017 | Phoenix Rising |
What does Shaun Wright-Phillips do now?
Since retiring in August 2019, Shaun has worked as a football pundit and co-commentator for BBC Sport, ITV Sport, Sky Sports and talkSPORT, and his speaker profile lists him as a Manchester City club ambassador since 2020. Strictly Come Dancing 2026 was his first big entertainment show. He said he signed up because he “wanted to challenge myself and learn something new”.
What is Shaun Wright-Phillips’ net worth?
There is no official figure for Shaun Wright-Phillips’ net worth. The most widely quoted estimate is $13.5 million from Celebrity Net Worth, but that page has not been updated since his QPR days, and other websites give numbers from under $2 million to $30 million. None of them is confirmed by Shaun.
What is known is where his money came from: almost 20 years as a professional footballer, the peak of it in the Premier League with City and Chelsea, followed by TV punditry and club ambassador work.
Shaun Wright-Phillips rumours, checked
He never played for Arsenal. That was his dad Ian Wright’s club, not his.
Ian Wright is not his biological father. Ian adopted him at the age of three.
His son is a professional footballer. D’Margio Wright-Phillips plays for Beerschot in Belgium.
Frequently Asked Questions
He is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), which is why Nottingham Forest thought he was too small as a teenager.
He won 36 England caps and scored 6 goals between 2004 and 2010.
He is best remembered in the number 29 shirt at Manchester City, which gave him the nickname SWP29 among fans.
Manchester City's official figures give him 48 goals in 262 appearances across his two spells at the club.
Yes. He was in England's squad at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and came off the bench against the United States and Algeria.
Two FA Cups (2007 with Chelsea and 2011 with Manchester City), the 2005 Community Shield and the 2001-02 First Division title with City.
Before Shaun, Chris Appleton left on 4 October, Melanie Walters on 11 October and Dame Sarah Storey on 18 October.
The Halloween special airs on Saturday 31 October 2026 at 6.30pm on BBC One.
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