Few modern rugby players have lived as loudly or as honestly as Joe Marler.
Born in Eastbourne in 1990, he went from a teenage front-row prospect at Haywards Heath to one of the most recognisable props in world rugby.
More than 200 appearances for Harlequins and 95 England caps, he built a reputation for aggression, intelligence, and a wicked sense of humour.
Yet in 2025, long after the roar of Twickenham began to fade, Marler found himself in very different arenas: a Scottish castle, a south-east London rugby club, and a BBC building site.
From the Front Row to the Spotlight
Marler’s rugby career was rich in milestones. His England debut in 2012, Grand Slam glory in 2016, and a World Cup final in 2019. He captained Harlequins, wrote a brutally funny memoir (Loose Head: Confessions of an Unprofessional Rugby Player), and became known for moments of mischief as much as mastery.
That line from his book sums up what came next. Retirement from Test rugby in 2024 didn’t mean a quiet life; just a different kind of bounce.
The Castle Mind-Games of The Celebrity Traitors
In 2025, Marler entered The Celebrity Traitors, the BBC’s high-stakes reality show where famous faces bluff and betray each other in a Scottish castle. The shift from mauls to mind-games was as dramatic as it sounds.
Fans quickly warmed to his mixture of bluntness and curiosity. He treated the show like a test of teamwork under pressure; the same instincts that had carried him through a decade of scrummaging, now repurposed for a game of trust and treachery.
DIY SOS and the Spirit of Old Elthamians
Just as The Celebrity Traitors reached its peak, Marler appeared on another BBC institution: DIY SOS: The Big Build. The episode centred on the Scott family, five siblings rebuilding their lives after the tragic death of their mother, Zoë Scott. Nick Knowles and his team were renovating the family home; Marler came in to help in the way he knows best - through rugby.
The setting for that part of the story was Old Elthamians RFC, a south-east London club with its own history of resilience. Marler joined a training session with Samuel Scott, the rugby-mad brother among the siblings, sharing drills, laughter, and advice about teamwork and belonging.
That choice of club added a deeper resonance. OEs aren’t just another amateur outfit; their history is one of dizzying highs and painful lessons.
They rose spectacularly through the English National Leagues, clinching promotion to National 1 in 2017 after a playoff win over Sale FC at Heywood Road; a day remembered by many who followed the grassroots game.
But their rapid ascent proved costly. Financial pressures mounted and by 2021, they withdrew from the National Leagues altogether, returning to the community level they’d once left behind.
For DIY SOS, that backstory mattered. Here was a club that had soared, stumbled, and started again; just like the family the programme was helping.
Marler’s appearance there wasn’t a celebrity cameo; it was a nod to the enduring spirit of rugby.
Clubs like OEs are where the sport breathes: volunteers, muddy pitches, cold Saturday mornings, and the idea that teamwork can rebuild almost anything.
“Rugby’s a place where you can fail together and still get up together,” Marler told the BBC cameras. “That’s what these kids are doing.”
Nick Knowles later described the day as “one of the most emotional builds we’ve ever done; the rugby family at its best.”
The Man Behind the Jersey
Marler’s willingness to speak about mental health has made him an important voice far beyond sport. In 2020, he told The Guardian: “I was in complete denial there was anything wrong with me … I just melted and said: ‘I don’t know what’s going on, mate. I feel awful. I’m a bad person.’”
That openness turned him into something rare; a professional athlete unafraid of admitting fragility. He’s since supported men’s mental health campaigns and taken part in talks and podcasts that blend humour with honesty.
Why His Story Resonates
For followers of both rugby and life’s messier transitions, Marler’s journey hits home:
Adaptability - From international front-row to reality-TV strategist to community volunteer.
Authenticity - The same bluntness that once rattled referees now invites empathy.
Community - His DIY SOS cameo at Old Elthamians showed how rugby’s values endure long after the final whistle.
Resilience - whether rebuilding a family home or a fallen club, the theme is the same: get back up and bind together.
Closing Thoughts
Joe Marler’s post-rugby life has become a story about connection between teammates, strangers, and even TV audiences.
From The Celebrity Traitors’ candle-lit deception to the honest sweat of a community rebuild, he has carried the same mantra into every field: tackle what’s in front of you, and don’t be afraid to talk about it afterwards.
“You can’t laugh off everything,” he once said, “but you can laugh through it; and that’s a start.”
For anyone who’s ever played the game, or simply tried to pick themselves up after a fall, that’s a sentiment worth holding on to.
