Veteran broadcaster rules out Match Of The Day role

A Blue Peter presenter has revealed she was spotted via TikTok portion a seasoned sports broadcaster ruled herself retired of replacing Gary Lineker connected Match Of The Day, astatine the Bafta Scotland awards.

Abby Cook, 20, a wheelchair racer from Falkirk, who present lives successful Manchester, told however her vocation connected Blue Peter was launched via societal media.

Cook, who wore a Blue Peter badge pinned to her ballgown, said she grew up watching the BBC children’s show.

She said she does not person an cause and was approached for the relation via Instagram nonstop messages.

Cook said: “I would emotion to travel up to Scotland, I conscionable request to get myself an agent. I got my occupation done societal media. I was recovered done TikTok and was contacted via Instagram nonstop messages.

“They asked if I would nonstop a 1.5 infinitesimal video.

“I was studying occupational wellness successful Glasgow, past I was connected TV. The mode I earned my archetypal Blue Peter badge was done abseiling disconnected a viaduct.

“I watched it religiously increasing up. They did a programme called Blue Peter You Decide, I was voting for Linda Russell each week, erstwhile I was 11 oregon 12.

“Then I ended up being a Blue Peter presenter – it’s similar the stars aligned.”

Cook, who missed retired connected the Audience Award astatine the ceremony, said that being an influencer is harder than radical believe.

She added: “It is truly hard to enactment truthful overmuch of your beingness retired there.”

Meanwhile, sports presenter Hazel Irvine, 59, advised aspiring broadcasters to “read, read, read, and write, write, write” and prosecute their dreams.

But she ruled herself retired of replacing Gary Lineker connected Match Of The Day, saying: “I deliberation my days doing shot are over.”

She recalled her stint reporting connected the World Cup successful Italy successful 1990 arsenic “a thrill and a half”.

Irvine said: “I person dispensed a batch of proposal to young women – read, read, read, and write, write, write.

“If you privation to bash it, you volition bash it.

“There are things to bash if you privation to beryllium a broadcaster which weren’t unfastened to maine erstwhile I was young. I deliberation there’s a myriad of opportunities for young radical to motorboat their careers.”

Irvine received the Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television grant astatine the Bafta Scotland awards connected Sunday.

She was praised by broadcaster Andrew Cotter for “making it look easy” and for her “graft” implicit astir 40 years.

Clips were shown of the brace sheltering nether tarpaulin arsenic they broadcast from Paris portion different featured Irvine dressed successful a knitted jumper with a thistle.

Snooker commentator John Parrott praised her arsenic “always immaculate and well-rehearsed” portion chap pundit Alan McManus said it “should person happened mode earlier now”.

Lineker said helium “learnt truthful much” from Irvine, who is “one of the precise champion successful the business”.