Gabby Logan: ‘Being the face of ITV Sport in the 1990s went straight to my head’
- Logan, 49, said she allowed TV fame to make her act like an ‘A*****e’.
- She would have lost herself in showbiz glitz if it weren’t for the people around her
- She joined ITV in 1998 as one of the first female sports presenters on terrestrial television
Gabby Logan struck a chord with women everywhere when she became the first woman to host ITV’s football coverage in the 1990s.
But the presenter has revealed how she allowed the trappings of fame to go to her head and ended up acting like an “A*****e”.
Speaking on Desert Island Discs, the mother-of-two said she would have lost herself in a world of showbiz glitz if it weren’t for the people around her.
The 49-year-old said: “No matter how you think you can handle it and how well prepared you feel you are, there are times when you are dangerously close to being what I consider an ** *** designate. **.’
Gabby Logan has revealed how she allowed the trappings of fame to go to her head and ended up acting like an ‘A******e’.
“Sometimes I sailed pretty close to the wind. I entered the world of a****** and then came back very quickly because you have enough good people around to pull you back in.’
Ms Logan added: “You literally walk up red carpets and get things mailed to you for free, people open doors to restaurants you didn’t think you’d get into before and [you are] given tables and only for what? Present some sports on TV. I think these things can be a bit head-scratching and if you don’t have the right people around you can get lost in all of that.
Ms Logan joined ITV in 1998 from Sky Sports to become one of the first female sports presenters on a terrestrial TV channel. But eight years later, the bubble burst when the moderator was fired.
She said: “It’s important to realize that not everyone in life has to like you. I had a boss who arrived at ITV who was my boss at Sky and I felt straight away that he didn’t really want me there anymore…
Speaking on Desert Island Discs, the mother-of-two said she would have lost herself in a world of showbiz glitz if it weren’t for the people around her
“I was slowly being weaned from pretty big programs.”
Logan, who is married to former rugby union star Kenny Logan, said things came to a head in 2006 when she was dropped from that year’s World Cup coverage.
The first thing she learned of her dismissal was when a well-meaning colleague told her he was sad to hear she was leaving.
Logan, who is married to former rugby union star Kenny Logan, said things came to a head in 2006 when she was dropped from that year’s World Cup coverage
She said: “I was devastated because I wanted things to be on my terms, as we all do, and I also felt like that was the end.”
The presenter, who did not identify the boss in question, said she is now “grateful” for the sacking because it resulted in her being recruited for a dream job at the BBC.
Desert Island Discs airs today at 11:15am on BBC Radio 4 and is repeated on Friday at 9:00am.