Hazel Irvine said she was the first woman in the UK to "fully anchor" a dedicated football programme (Image: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

Olympics host Hazel Irvine talks 'challenge' of 'being taken seriously' in TV industry

Veteran presenter Hazel Irvine was the first woman to "fully anchor" a dedicated football programme back in 1987, and was met with some challenges along the way

27 Jul 2024, 09:00 by Matt Davies · Daily Record

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BBC presenter Hazel Irvine has shared her experiences of working in the male-dominated world of sports broadcasting.

Hazel, who is one of the presenters at the 2024 Olympics, has spoken about the challenges she faced as a professional "curiosity" in the 1980s.

The 59-year-old BBC sports presenter was one of the few women in the field of sports broadcasting when she started her career back in 1987.

In an interview with Happiful Magazine, she revealed that she was the first woman in the UK to "fully anchor" a dedicated football programme and discussed how she navigated the various challenges along the way.

Hazel said: "It was challenging because I was the only woman in the room – when I turned up at press conferences, when I worked in football in my early years.

Hazel Irvine said she was a “curiosity” in the early days of her career (Image: David Cannon/Getty Images)

"I was the first woman in Great Britain to fully anchor a dedicated football programme, and that brought its challenges, clearly. I was a curiosity in the early days, I would say.

"No one said no to being interviewed by me, but they were very interested to see what I brought to the party. And I think they realised I would bring my own style to it – I fundamentally knew what I was talking about."

She went on to say: "I couldn’t get away with sound bite fodder. I had to be very careful to make sure that in the phrasing of my questions, they realised that I’d done my homework beforehand so that I would be taken properly and seriously."

Hazel shared that she was quickly "pretty much accepted", which "says a great deal" about the people she worked with.

She highlighted the need to "fight hard" for opportunities, potentially more so because she "was a woman".

Despite this, the Scottish presenter's recollections of this time are largely "happy".

Hazel Irvine said she was the “only woman in the room” when she worked in football (Image: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Over the years, Hazel has presented a variety of sports, from golf to snooker, and is the lead presenter for the World Championship, Masters and UK Championship, as per WST.

Her career began at Radio Clyde before she joined the BBC's snooker team in 2001. Hazel has also covered numerous international sporting events, including golf's majors and the Olympics.

Born in St Andrews, Scotland, Hazel studied History of Art at university. She participated in netball, golf and athletics and prefers to keep her personal life under wraps, as reported by the Mirror.

The presenter, who would go on to host Tokyo 2020, said to the Mail in 2019: “As a child, I spent my pocket money on stickers for an Olympics sticker book.”

She continued: “I had a very happy childhood doing sport and outdoors stuff. My dad, Bill, made this half-size snooker table for my brother and me as kids, and Mum crocheted the pockets!”

Hazel will also be presenting the Olympic Games Paris 2024 alongside fellow hosts Gabby Logan, Clare Balding, Jeanette Kwakye, and JJ Chalmers.

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