Jesse Palmer never thought he would be on television.
The retired athlete and former reality star revealed this in an interview with DailyMail.com just one week before the premiere of DailyMail TV, the syndicated series launching September 18 that he will host.
Sports were his first passion, with Palmer and his two younger brothers all catching the football bug from their father Bill, who played for the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League.
Bill taught his children to love the game and provided them all with some pretty memorable names.
Oldest son Jesse James shared a name with the legendary outlaw so his brother William John got the nickname ‘Billy the Kid’ and youngest boy Christian Wyatt became known as ‘Wyatt Earp.’
The James Gang.
Jesse Palmer is preparing for his new role as the host of DailyMail TV, which launches on September 18
Growing up, jesse and his brothers (l to r: Billy, Christian and Jesse) wanted to be football players like their father Bill (back)
‘The best things about all three of my boys is that they are incredibly humble and very appreciative,’ Palmer’s father Bill. ‘They are just good men.’
Palmer was a football star in Canada, which earned him a trip to the United States by the time he was a teenager and a spot on one the best teams in the country at the University of Florida.
There he was able to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue his own professional career.
And that time on the field then led to his role in front of the camera.
His dad Bill Palmer said that he is incredibly proud of all three of his boys in an interview with DailyMail.com, pointing out that they are still best friends with the kids they grew up with in Ottawa.
He also said he would have ‘supported them in any sport they chose,’ but got lucky it was football.
All three boys are named after outlaws (Jesse James above with middle brother ‘Billy the Kid’)
‘I started to coach them when they were young, and then I got to hang out with them,’ said Bill.
‘And when Jesse got accepted to the University of Florida the family followed him, and we lived there.’
Bill revealed that the family moved again as well, heading up to Indiana when Jesse’s younger brother Billy got accepted to play at Notre Dame.
By that time Jesse was playing with the New York Giants in the NFL, and then in 2004 he won the hearts of millions when he starred on the fifth season of ‘The Bachelor.’
He did not find love, but he did find out how good he was on camera, and soon after began popping up on sports networks offering color commentary.
‘I thought I would go back home and maybe become an ambassador to Canada after the NFL,’ said Palmer.
‘TV really found me, and I think I have always been willing to try and new things and work hard.’
That hard work led to bigger and bigger roles with major networks ESPN and ABC, who in 2015 named him as special contributor on their hit show ‘Good Morning America.’
Jesse and his father on a recent vacation to Paris. Bill tells DailyMail.com that all three bgoys are still best friends with the kids they grew up with in Ottawa
Palmer managed to make the difficult transition from the professional athlete (left playing with the Giants) to on-air talent (right on GMA)
‘I thought I would go back home and maybe become an ambassador to Canada after the NFL,’ said Palmer (above in the DailyMail.com newsroom)
He will now be front and center however on DailyMail TV, where he will get the spotlight all to himself as the show’s sole host.
It is a daunting task but one Palmer said he is prepared for, especially with all the stories and photos that the website turns out on a daily basis.
And while this might be incredibly impressive to most parents, this career success is not what Bill says makes him proud of son Jesse and his brothers.
Billy is the president of BB&T Insurance and Christian is a VP at Cushman & Wakefield.
‘The best things about all three of my boys is that they are incredibly humble and very appreciative,’ he explains.
‘They are just good men.’
And while Jesse’s meteoric rise may have appeared to come out of nowhere, Bill does admit that even as a baby, Jesse’s mother was convinced her oldest child would one day be famous.
That turned out to be more than accurate, as he has now found fame on the football field, reporting from the sidelines, as a reality star and now as television host.
DailyMailTV will launch Monday, September 18 and has been cleared by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Broadcasting, Gray Television, Inc., Cox Television and Nexstar Media Group to run in 96% of the United States.
The series will be executive produced by Carla Pennington, executive producer of Dr. Phil and The Doctors; Jay McGraw, executive producer of The Doctors and the CBS drama series Bull; Martin Clarke, Publisher, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of DailyMail.com; and Dr. Phil McGraw, executive producer of Dr. Phil, The Doctors and the CBS drama series Bull.
CBS Television Distribution, which distributes Dr. Phil and The Doctors, will handle the distribution of DailyMailTV.
DailyMailTV will be filmed in New York at PIX 11 with Matt Strauss as executive producer and Eric Beesemyer as co-executive producer.