Gabby Logan maintained a stern demeanour when asked if she was to receive the same salary as her predecessor Gary Lineker after she was confirmed as his replacement
Gabby Logan’s role as presenter of Match of the Day appears to have reignited the discussion over the gender pay gap within the BBC. Gabby, 52, who has been a recognised sports presenter for many years, is set to replace Gary Lineker after he stepped down from his coveted role on the BBC show in May.
At the time, Gary was considered to be the highest paid star after securing an estimated salary of £1.35million a year. When speaking to The Times, Gabby was asked if she had also asked for the same salary. But her response was unexpected. She bluntly responded saying: “That’s all sorted.”
And when asked if she could elaborate on her answer, her reply was even shorter. She said: “It’s sorted.”
Gabby will be splitting her duties on Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2 with co-stars Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates.
It has been reported that the presenters set up a secret WhatsApp group to discuss their takeover of the show and create more of a bond.
But according to the Daily Mail, certain messages were deleted in a bid to avoid leaks. Despite presenting changes to the show, Gabby was keen to reiterate that the changes will not be huge.
Speaking on the ainslie + ainslie Performance People podcast, she explained: “Nobody wants to throw the baby out with the bath water.”
She added: “It’s a football highlights show, we’ve got the same kind of pundits… and it’s all about the football. There are now so many great male and female broadcasters.”
She went on to explain: “But also, so many more females working in sports, not just in front of the camera or the microphone, but also behind the scenes. It’s like any business, if you say we have a 50/50 male and female split but all the women are doing the low paid jobs, that’s not 50/50, that’s a hierarchy that’s male-dominated.”
On concluding her point, she said: “It’s been really good development to hear women’s voices in your ears and hearing them say they’re the director which is great. Hopefully it’s a better environment than when we were starting out. It’s definitely a much more positive place generally.”
In addition to her brief discussion of her new role with The Times , Gabby also opened up on her time on Strictly Come Dancing back in 2007.
Her husband Kenny Logan also competed on the show and made it to the top five contestants. However, Gabby was unable to share the same glory as she was eliminated far sooner.
She claimed that at the time she remembered crying into her sofa believing the public did not like her.
She told The Times: “It was a harsh lesson, learning that sometimes not everyone likes you. You realise the parts of your personality that you thought were attributes as a sportswoman are not valued.”
She added: “I was told I was being too competitive, whereas I was thinking, ‘I thought that was good. That’s what I did in sport — and it worked — and that’s what my husband is doing.'”
Gabby firmly believes that there was a definitive cultural shift on the show as competitive women are now more “appreciated.”
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