Gabby Logan was forced to leave Match of the Day on BBC TV just 20 minutes into the show on Wednesday night due to a family emergency. Mark Chapman replaced his fellow presenter at Radio 5 Live, who was also working for the Beeb, after a thrilling midweek night of Premier League matches.
Logan joined Danny Murphy and Stephen Warnock to open the program, watching and analyzing Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth. The 52-year-old referenced the sad passing of Martin Chivers when she launched her first video package. After analyzing Spurs’ defeat, Rogan previewed highlights from Man City’s 1-1 draw with Brighton, saying: “Let’s move on. Back-to-back draws have left Manchester City six points behind Arsenal, who play Liverpool tomorrow. Our opponents Brighton have never won at the Etihad. Our commentator is Mark Scott…”
However, when the highlights finished, Chapman, not Logan, was in the main seat. The 52-year-old then confirmed to viewers why Logan had to leave so quickly. He explained: “Sadly, Gabby had a family emergency that she had to deal with quickly.
“She left for that and I came in from the radio to finish the show. We’re now going to see what happened in the Manchester City vs. Brighton game…”
Rogan and Chapman are two of the three Match of the Day presenters, and this will be the first season since 1998-99 that long-serving host Gary Lineker will not be hosting the BBC’s flagship show. Lineker stepped down last year and was replaced by the trio of Logan, Chapman and Sky Sports’ Kelly Cates.
Lineker has been the sole host for 26 years, and has continued to rotate throughout the season. Rogan also hosted Match of the Day last Sunday, with Chapman leading the show the previous day after Saturday’s four games.
Logan admitted he was surprised by how nervous he was after his first experience hosting MOTD with Robert Greene and Troy Deeney in August. The long-time BBC employee said: “I have to admit I was a little too nervous last week to take my first MoTD photos of the season.
“I didn’t realize I was nervous until I could literally feel my heart beating through my shirt before the opening rink. By the second week, my nervousness had settled down to normal pre-show (optimal) levels. My heart rate was normal.”
“This is a show I grew up watching, so it always feels a little surreal when the music comes on. @robgreenwonkyfinger (and) @t_deeney are a fun and interesting dynamic duo to spend your Sundays with.”
After securing her new role alongside Chapman and Cates last year, she said: “What’s interesting is that even though we share the role, we don’t actually work together on Match of the Day.
“It’s really great to share that because we bring different experiences and different interests into the game. We have different broadcast methods in place, which means our experts can stay tuned and share different types of analysis.”
And in an interview with the Daily Mail last September, Rogan joked: “Who would have thought that a menopausal woman would host Match of the Day? Not only has football come a long way, but so has the ability to use that M-word, which used to have the connotation of passing by.”
The former Final Score presenter insisted it was important for women to be represented on football broadcasts, adding: “A lot of women have been going to football for a long time and football has to reflect the views of the fans as well. I think that’s the great thing about football. I think it’s great for everyone.”
“That’s why it’s important to have people of different ethnicities and backgrounds. Television should reflect society.”
