A four-year stay at The Valley saw Ambrose make over 120 appearances, while he also spent time away on loan at his former club Ipswich in the latter stages of his spell with the Addicks.

[5] He made his first-team debut on 21 April 2002 when manager George Burley brought him on for the final five minutes of Ipswich's 2–0 defeat to Arsenal at Highbury, replacing Martijn Reuser.

With Ipswich in financial difficulty after falling into administration, the club were forced to sell Ambrose outside of the transfer window for a fee in the region of £1 million.

[12] After signing for Newcastle United on 24 March 2003, Ambrose had to wait until the final game of the season to make his debut for the first-team.

Replacing Nolberto Solano in the 76th minute, Ambrose helped his side to a 2–2 draw against relegated West Bromwich Albion on 11 May 2003.

[13] Ambrose made a scoring start to the 2003–04 season with the last goal in the Magpies 5–0 UEFA Cup first round win against NAC Breda on 24 September 2003.

[14] He scored his first Premiership goal away to Leicester City on Boxing Day with a last gasp equaliser to earn a 1–1 draw for his side, five minutes after being introduced as a substitute.

[15] He made his first start for the club after 18 first-team appearances on 31 January 2004 in Newcastle's 1–1 draw with Birmingham City at St Andrew's.

[18] With Bobby Robson sacked by Newcastle at the end of August 2004, Ambrose found first-team opportunities limited during the early stages of the season.

Under new manager Graeme Souness, Ambrose made his first appearance of the season in Newcastle's 5–1 UEFA Cup win against Bnei Sakhnin in Israel on 30 September 2004, replacing Laurent Robert on 62 minutes.

[20] After making 10 appearances until 9 January 2005, Ambrose was out of action for three months, but made a return on 10 April in Newcastle's 1–0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

[2] With his contract set to expire on 1 July 2009, Ambrose agreed to join Charlton's south London rivals Crystal Palace on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal.

[44] Ambrose opened his goalscoring account in the first game of the 2010–11 season, scoring Palace's second goal in a 3–2 win over Leicester City.

[46] Darren Ambrose's career at Crystal Palace was most famous for his League Cup Quarter Final goal against Manchester United on 30 November 2011.

[51] Ambrose labelled his contribution to a poor team display during a 5–0 home defeat by Barnsley in September as "the worst performance of my career".

[52] After assisting five goals in five games, a series of niggling injuries, including a sickness bug and a problematic knee, kept Ambrose out of contention.

[63] Ambrose was released by Birmingham at the end of the 2013–14 season, after a successful loan spell at Apollon Smyrni despite the side being relegated from the Greek Superleague.

[67] He scored one goal during his stint with Ipswich, earning the club an FA Cup third round replay against Southampton after drawing 1–1 at St Mary's Stadium on 4 January 2015.

[70] Having previously spent the 2014–15 pre-season on trial with Colchester United, Ambrose signed a one-year deal with the League One club on 6 August 2015.

[72] He scored his second goal for the club on 24 October, putting his side 4–3 ahead in what would end up a 4–4 draw with Walsall at the Colchester Community Stadium.

Ambrose scored his second goal in England's qualifying play-off match first-leg against France on 11 November, a game which finished 1–1.

Ambrose made his final England appearance in the 2007 European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Moldova on 15 August 2006 at his former club Ipswich Town's home ground Portman Road.