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Gabby Logan has reflected on the confidence blow that came in 2006 when an important presenting job was given to a man.
The broadcaster, 51, who will be presenting the BBC’s Olympics coverage in Paris, began her career in radio in her twenties and moved into TV presenting roles with ITV and Sky.
In a new interview with Saga Magazine, Logan reflected on her departure from ITV, which was clouded by difficulty when her job as a World Cup anchor was given to a male presenter instead.
“I left ITV under something of a cloud,” she told the publication. “I felt it was all gone.”
However, Logan has learnt to look at that experience more positively, saying: “Maybe if that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be as appreciative and as hardworking now. When I stop, I want it to be on my own terms.” The Independent has contacted ITV for comment.
Back in 2010, Logan told The Independent that her time as a World Cup anchor for ITV “wasn’t very enjoyable because I was being slowly ... er ... moved out of my position”.
“A new boss came in and didn’t really want what I was doing. You look back and it all felt so cruel and horrible,” she said at the time.
After leaving ITV, Logan moved to the BBC, where she hosted Wimbledon, Match of the Day and her first Olympics in 2008.
Ahead of her forthcoming stint at the Paris Olympics, she explained that her husband, Kenny, and daughter, Lois, will be coming to France with her, while her son Reuben – a professional rugby player – will be staying in the UK to continue training.
“Lois and Kenny are coming out for the show jumping,” she explained. “Reuben will be in training but glued to it on the TV.”
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Speaking about the anticipation leading up to the games, she said she just “focuses on the job” at hand, rather than feeling any nerves.
“You’re aware when something is enormous, but I think you want to try to get the best out of yourself. The secret, as ever, is to be yourself.”
Away from sports presenting, Logan hosts her own podcast Mid.Point, in which she invites prominent guests to talk about their own mid-life challenges and expectations, seeking advice from health gurus and mental health experts.
In a recent episode, Logan reflected on having a “meltdown” during her menopause, and telling her husband she was going to leave him.
During the menopause, women experience changes in hormone levels, which can cause mood swings, low mood and anxiety, and Logan said she dealt with a “mini-crisis” as a result.
Speaking to The Times about her new book, The Midpoint Plan, Logan reflected on realising she was perimenopausal when she was 47 and the toll it took on her relationships.
“It was over something small, like the kids not clearing up after breakfast,” she said. “That was probably my lowest point, my mini-crisis. It was the time when I was feeling, this is not me and this isn’t how I cope with things.”
“I expected that things would change physically as you get older, but I wasn’t prepared for feeling so unenthused, anxious, snappier and short-tempered,” Logan said.
“I had a lot to be grateful for, but that compounds it because then you’re thinking, well, what’s wrong with me?”
