Olympics 2024 presenter Hazel Irvine has opened up about the challenges of being a professional "curiosity" back in the 1980s.
The BBC sports presenter, 59, was one of just a few women working in the male-dominated world of sports broadcasting after joining the profession in 1987.
She revealed to Happiful Magazine that she was the first woman in the UK to "fully anchor" a dedicated football programme, and explained how she overcame the various challenges.
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."
Hazel continued: "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 later said: "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 said she was soon "pretty much accepted", which "says a great deal" about the people with whom she worked. She also emphasised how she had to "fight hard" for opportunities, "possibly" more so because she "was a woman".
However, the Scottish presenter said her memories of this period are predominantly "happy". She also said she had been working "really hard" to "justify" her involvement.
Hazel has presented a range of different sports over the years, everything from golf to snooker, and is the main presenter for the World Championship, Masters and UK Championship, according to WST.
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She started her career on Radio Clyde and joined the BBC's snooker team in 2001. Hazel has also worked on various global sporting events, including golf's majors and the Olympics.
Born in St Andrews, Scotland, Hazel studied History of Art at university. She was involved in netball, golf and athletics and likes to keep her personal life private, according to 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 is also presenting the Olympic Games Paris 2024 alongside fellow hosts Gabby Logan, Clare Balding, Jeanette Kwakye, and JJ Chalmers.
