Olympics host Hazel Irvine talks 'challenge' of 'being taken seriously' in TV industry
dailyrecord.co.ukBBC 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."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.
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