Gabby Logan has graced our TV screens since 1996 as a sports presenter, but last summer saw the launch of her new morning chat show.
Live With Gabby is on Channel 5 every week day morning at 11.10am, and sees Gabby inteviewing celebrities, discussing the news, and features on health, travel and cooking.
Gabby has had a great mix of celebrities and high-achievers on her show, and it is going from strength to strength.
We spoke to Gabby about her media past, her reality TV stint, her show, her home life and her upcoming work at the Olympics.
- What made you want to do a talk show?
Well it was more a case of being asked at the right time, as this is something I have always wanted to do.
I love interviewing and the format of the show is lots of interviews of varying lengths with all kinds of different people from the very well known, to ordinary folk with extraordinary lives who you will never have heard of.
- Who has been your favourite guest to interview?
It would be so hard to say just one name; today Eamon Holmes and Ruth Langsford were on and guests like that are a joy, you can just press go and they will do the job for you.
They are lovely people which makes it all the more enjoyable. But sometimes its the tougher interviews which end up feeling more satisfying as you have to work that bit harder.
I loved having Hollywood A listers David Thewlis and Michelle Yeoh on because they were on the same show as a live Reindeer and Jenny Éclair and that to me is a fabulous mix.
I had the most injured soldier from Afghanistan on the other day his name is Ben Parkinson amongst other things he lost his legs and suffered brain damage when he stood on a land mine, he brought me to tears and I was truly inspired by him.
But honestly there hasn’t been a show where I haven’t some professional satisfaction no matter how small and learnt something new from my guests.
- You have had some high-achievers on your show, like the man who walked the length of the Amazon, do guests like that make you want to take part in activities like that?
No! I am glad people like that exist so I can sponsor them and admire them. That’s what I said to Helen Skelton, when she was on, while she is doing it the rest of us can pay money to charity and be thankful we don’t have to do these amazing physical challenges.
I’d love to do a massive cycle ride but walking the length of the Amazon is a different level entirely.
- Who would you love to have on your show?
Ricky Gervais, JK Rowling, Dawn French and Daniel Craig would be a good Monday line up.
-Do you have any guests in particular youíre looking forward to being on your show in the near future?
I am not sure when this is going to be published....so I don’t want to say a name and they may have already been on.
- You discuss a very wide range of topics on the show, but what do you like to discuss most?
Relationships are always good, Francine Kaye the Divorce Doctor was on, and so was Fern Britton and we had a great chat. I also love Sarah Schenker the nutritionist she speaks so much sense.
- After Strictly Come Dancing your husband became well known in the media as well, would you like to be the next Richard and Judy, and have a joint talk show?
I’d love to do a show with him, we see the world differently so it would be interesting to see where his questioning would go. He is a bit of a maverick though!
- Your father and brother played football, your sister was a gymnast, but you studied Law at Durham. Was sport always your chosen career path?
I was also a gymnast so I had a very good go at sport and then I wanted to do something academic and I enjoyed University so much but I love having one foot in the sports world.
- You are known as one of the premier female sports presenters; did you always have an interest in football growing up with your dad being who he was?
Football has been in my life for as long as I can remember and it always will be, I went to my first game at 4.
- You started out your presenting career on the radio, was the transition between radio and TV an easy one?
I did some local TV at the same time in Newcastle so I think t was good to work simultaneously on both mediums. They do require subtle differences but when it comes to chat I think you can see that there is over lap., usually though radio allows you more time to let the answers breathe.
Which is why Live with Gabby is unusual in TV terms as we have 12 minute parts with one guest, so you can go off on a tangent.
- You're working on the Olympic coverage later this year. Do you know what sports you will be covering?
I am doing a show every night which will involve the action from the day, guests and medal winners. I cant wait.
- Is there anything in particular you would like to cover? Like gymnastics maybe, given your history in the field yourself?
I am lucky with the show I am doing I will get to have a little bit of everything on the show.
- In 2007 you and your husband Kenny starred in Strictly Come Dancing. Have you done anymore dancing together since?
We dance all the time round the house! He loves a little waltz, the kids get embarrassed.
- Did you both get asked at the same time, or was one person being on the show an encouragement for the other to sign up?
I was signed up a year before as I couldn’t do the year before, and then obviously someone had a bright idea!
- Was there a lot of competition or did you help each other out by practicing together etc?
We didn’t train together as you are training with your partner. But I helped him a lot at home, listening to the music and discussing the beat which he had no idea bout when he started.
He was devastated when I went out before him, and then it seemed to ignite his enthusiasm for it.
- You grew up in quite a big family, with two brothers and a sisters, was this something that was important for you once you were married and then having to have IVF treatment?
I always wanted to be a Mum, and I was surprised we needed to have help getting pregnant I think when you are younger you always assume that it is something that will come easily. I am so grateful that we had the chance.
- You unfortunately lost one of your brother Daniel at a young age, and you now do a lot of charity work; you are patron of the Disabilities Trust, Princeís Trust, and Great Ormond Street Hospital and vice president of Sparks. Was what happened to your brother a big inspiration for this charity work?
Yes and I think it reconfirmed to me that we should never take this life for granted, we get one shot to make a difference.
Gabby Logan hosts LIVE with Gabby, weekdays at 11.10am on Channel 5.
FemaleFirst Ellan Smith
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