Gabby Logan told 'don't come back' after clashing with TV boss

Gabby Logan has opened up about her fears for her TV career after feeling "sidelined" by her former boss. She's now one of the BBC's star presenters, recently securing the spot as one of the trio to replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day.

Besides that, Logan graces screens as the face of BBC's Six Nations coverage, and with around three decades in the industry, she commands massive respect in sports broadcasting circles.

But reaching the summit of success wasn't a smooth journey for the 51 year old. During a candid appearance on Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast, Logan recalls being left uncertain about her future in television.

She even toyed with a drastic career shift after experiencing a blow at ITV during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

She had initially been pegged to cover England's group stage games against Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago in Germany until a sudden change of plans had Steve Rider taking over her duties. Relegated to more minor matches, her confidence took a hit—further shaken when she was cut from the coverage completely with stark instruction 'don't come back' after she planned to spend days off at home during the event, reports Wales Online.

Reflecting on the turbulent times, Logan shared: "I think I had a rough ride in my early thirties in my career, and I can't believe that's nearly 20 years ago. At the time, I thought it was going to be the end of my career.

"When I was leaving ITV and given another chance by the BBC... because even in my early 30s, I felt I'd already had this really long career and I'd done loads of great stuff. I'd been at Sky to start off with and went to ITV and did loads of brilliant things.

"But I kind of felt I was maybe going to have to shift and do something completely different, because I had a boss that wasn't really into me and wanted to slightly demote me. He took me off a World Cup in 2006."

Recounting her experiences, Logan said: "My kids were a year old and I was flying off to Germany, leaving my babies behind, going to the World Cup. [But] in the middle of the World Cup, he kind of sidelined me, and I came home with my tail between my legs.

"I was due to do so many knockout games and he said, 'oh, just don't come back' basically. Go home and don't come back because I was due to go home for a few days. In between the end of the group stages and the knockout stages, there's always a couple of days off and I was going to go home because it was only Germany and the kids were a year old."

Reflecting on the impact of the incident, Logan continued: "I remember being at home - we were doing up a house at the time, so we were renting a house in Barnes. It was a lovely day, it was gorgeous and the river was looking beautiful and the sky was blue.

"I just remember walking around the garden thinking 'Oh gosh, I love doing up houses, I'm just going to shift and go into property because that's what my mum does'. I was maybe 33 at the time and I thought maybe my law degree wasn't out of date and I could upgrade and go to bar school. I was really contemplating what to do next."

However, Logan confessed that this initial setback turned out to be a hidden blessing as she left ITV later that year to join the BBC, where her career took off.

"I was given an opportunity to go to the BBC, where I really felt I had to start again in quite a lot of ways," she said. "It was like I was going to a new school, in terms of proving yourself to the teachers and the other kids.

"When I look back now, how much more misogynistic the angles were to these articles and how always whatever I was wearing or looked like was talked about with regard to my performance. I was never it was never the same for a male colleague, they wouldn't talk about his suit.

"There was a lot of that to deal with, and I think it definitely fortified me. Once I got that second chance, as I saw it at the time - somewhere that I'd always hoped I might work because of the BBC having the long history with doing the Olympics and various other things that I really wanted to work on - I felt really grateful, and also that I was going to not let this opportunity go."

Logan joined the BBC back in 2007 and there are few sporting events that the Leeds native has not covered since launching her broadcasting career in 1992. She is a graduate of Durham University, and cut her broadcasting teeth on Tyneside, working for Metro Radio and Tyne Tees Television. She is known to be a Newcastle United fan and has worked with club at Newcastle United Foundation events.

Given her extensive experience, it's no surprise that she has reportedly amassed a net worth of around £4million over her 28-year career, making her the highest-earning female in sports journalism. Logan, who also hosts her own podcast, ranked seventh in a list of Britain's highest-earning sports presenters and pundits for 2024 with a salary of £210,000, according to figures from Sportcasting, via SPORTbible.