grabbed his personal place in sport's broadcasting history, commentating live on West Indian cricketer Brian Lara's world record innings of 501 not out. Roberts has stated he was only presented the chance of commentating fame due to an England v New Zealand test match taking place in Nottingham the same day resulting in him being the only TV or radio broadcaster at Edgbaston in Birmingham as the Warwickshire batsman took Durham apart. His moment 'in the spotlight' was heard on BBC Radios 1, 2, 4 and World Service as the runs mounted. Century Radio Roberts moved back to commercial radio to present the Big Mal Football Phone-In on Century with legendary coach Malcolm Allison. He also took on the role of Sports Editor once the station bought exclusive rights for Middlesbrough FC (Boro) commentaries. Roberts hired Boro commentator Alistair Brownlee from BBC Radio Cleveland. 'Roberts & Brownlee' became the staple diet for all Middlesbrough fans on a Saturday afternoon along with 'Big Mal'. He later presented Supermac at 6 a phone-in show with England and Newcastle United legend Malcolm Macdonald, as well as his regular commentaries and overseeing role for sport. In 1997 Roberts shocked Boro fans by resigning after a postponed game at Stockport. It was later revealed in regional newspaper the Sunday Sun that he had been asked by senior management at the station to curb the on-air use of his insider knowledge of Boro. Talk Radio Six months later Roberts returned to the airwaves reporting and commentating for UK national radio station TalkRadio, now Talksport where he followed England national team games in the buildup to the France World Cup. Roberts became part of the TalkRadio France 98 World Cup team, working alongside his Sky Sports colleagues Alan Parry and Andy Gray. Gray mentions in his autobiography 'Gray Matters' how Roberts was charged with the task of overcoming strict accreditation criteria in France to enable the TalkRadio team to carry out their commentaries – as the station did not have the necessary credentials. Immediately after the France World Cup, and after 3 years freelancing for Sky Sports, Roberts joined Sky full-time establishing the North East Bureau for the soon-to-be-launched 24/7 sports news TV channel – SKY Sports News. He then became the sports face of the region as North East Reporter. Despite his now full-time TV career, Roberts continued his association with TalkRadio for another 18 months