BBC presenter Gabby Logan has opened up about a career low point when she was pulled from ITV's 2006 World Cup coverage, fearing it would spell the end of her broadcasting career. The 53-year-old, now fronting the BBC's FIFA World Cup coverage alongside Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman, revealed on the White Wine Question Time podcast that a boss who 'wasn't really into me' decided to demote her.
'He pulled me off the World Cup in 2006. I was scheduled to cover many knockout games and he said not to return basically,' Logan recalled. 'I thought it was going to be the end of my career.' Instead, she was given a second chance by the BBC, where she has since become one of the most recognisable figures in sports broadcasting, covering football, athletics and the Six Nations.
Logan's personal life has been marked by tragedy. Her younger brother Daniel died aged 15 in 1992 from undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy while playing football. 'It's like a sledgehammer coming down and sending everybody off in different directions,' she said on BBC Wales Live. Earlier this year, her father, Welsh football legend Terry Yorath, died at 75, prompting her to leave a Match of the Day broadcast early.
Logan is married to former rugby star Kenny Logan, and their children have followed sporting careers: son Reuben is a professional rugby player, and daughter Lois is a showjumper. Despite past setbacks, Logan continues to thrive at the BBC, co-hosting World Cup coverage from a state-of-the-art studio in Salford alongside an array of football pundits.
