BBC Sport presenter Gabby Logan became emotional while sharing a childhood memory of her late father Terry Yorath, the Welsh football legend who died in January aged 75
Gabby Logan became visibly emotional whilst discussing her late father Terry Yorath on a podcast, with the BBC Sport presenter revealing how she felt the need to “protect” him during her childhood.
Welsh football legend Yorath passed away in hospital in January, aged 75, after a brief illness, leaving Logan and her family devastated. Tributes flooded in for the Leeds United icon from around the globe, with his daughter describing him as a “warrior on the football pitch and a kind-hearted and generous man off it”.
Speaking on the These Three Things podcast with Deborah Thomas, Logan opened up about elements of her family life and personal relationships and became tearful as she shared a childhood memory involving her father.
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Whilst talking about managing parenting in the spotlight, the 52-year-old Match of the Day presenter recollected how some lads at her son Reuben’s school had looked up “some horrible things” about her on the internet, with Reuben choosing not to inform her about it “to protect her”.
Confessing she was “mortified” by the situation, Logan explained that she wanted to emphasise to her children that protecting them was her responsibility and not theirs, with the episode triggering another recollection from her younger years. “That’s a horrible feeling as a child, when you realise that your parent is not kind of up to it on some level,” she explained.
“I remember my dad asking me to get my mum a Mother’s Day card. He was living in Vancouver because he was playing there and we were due to follow him, so he hadn’t been home for a few months and he said: ‘It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday, there’s some money next to my bed.’
“But it wasn’t Mother’s Day,” she added. “It was Mother’s Day in North America but it wasn’t in the UK.
Becoming emotional, Logan added: “I remember getting off the phone and cry… crying my eyes out because I remember thinking ‘Oh my dad’s like, he doesn’t know”. And I thought he knew everything. And I think I missed him as well.
“I remember my mum telling me I had to stay off school and asking me ‘What’s wrong with you?’ and I said ‘Oh I’ve got a bad stomach’ and I didn’t.
“I just was heartbroken for him because he felt so out of the loop and he didn’t feel like he was in our family anymore because he’s been living in another country.
“I remember that feeling so vividly and not wanting my kids to feel like they had to protect me,” she added.
“So it was a good opportunity to let [Reuben] know he didn’t need to be my saviour, and he didn’t have to keep things to himself.”
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