Gary Lineker has been seen for the first time since the BBC said sorry following the explosive row over impartiality.
It came as the BBC's under-fire director general Tim Davie issued a grovelling apology after Gary was forced to step back from presenting Match Of The Day.
The star flashed an awkward smile outside his home in south west London as he took his dog for a walk after admitting to a 'difficult' few days.
He broke cover minutes after a joint statement dropped confirmed he will be back on TV duty on Saturday night.
Mr Davie said the presenter will return to hosting coverage this weekend and apologised to sports fans following the row.
More than 210,000 Mirror readers signed our petition to reinstate the broadcaster and now BBC bosses appear to agree that their decision.
They suggested the call to take him off air was wrong as said sorry for the weekend chaos.
The football legend has been hauled over the coals by bosses following his tweet on the government's asylum policies.
“Everyone recognises this has been a difficult period for staff, contributors, presenters and, most importantly, our audiences. I apologise for this," Davie said after the corporation were slammed for the handling on the situation.
"The potential confusion caused by the grey areas of the BBC’s social media guidance that was introduced in 2020 is recognised.
"I want to get matters resolved and our sport content back on air. Impartiality is important to the BBC. It is also important to the public."
The presenter was suspended from the BBC for breaching impartiality guidelines and in a dramatic escalation the broadcaster has been met with a major backlash from many of Lineker's colleagues who boycotted.
Match of the Day was thrown into turmoil on Saturday and was reduced to a 20-minutes long show with no commentary after the mass walk-out.
Gary broke his twitter silence by saying: "I’d like to thank Tim Davie for his understanding during this difficult period. He has an almost impossible job keeping everybody happy, particularly in the area of impartiality. I am delighted that we’ll continue to fight the good fight, together."
He thanked the public and his colleagues for their support after a dramatic weekend.
He added: "After a surreal few days, I’m delighted that we have navigated a way through this. I want to thank you all for the incredible support, particularly my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the remarkable show of solidarity. Football is a team game but their backing was overwhelming."
"However difficult the last few days have been, it simply doesn’t compare to having to flee your home from persecution or war to seek refuge in a land far away. It’s heartwarming to have seen the empathy towards their plight from so many of you."
The corporation announced on Friday that Lineker would not present Match of the Day while the fallout from his tweets criticising the government’s small boats policy was dealt with.
Their decision sparked a wave of anger from the public - including many of Lineker’s BBC colleagues.
