Gabby Logan reveals reason why she turned down 2 invitations to receive her OBE

After decades at the top of British broadcasting, Gabby Logan‘s drive is undiminished.

“I love what I do,” she tells HELLO! in this exclusive interview ahead of her appearance as the BBC’s first female World Cup anchor as the tournament begins on 11 June.

“I don’t feel any kind of lethargy or creeping desire to spend less time doing it. I feel very blessed to be able to do it.”

In fact, Gabby, 53, a former international gymnast, is so dedicated that she has had to decline two invitations to receive her OBE, which was awarded in the 2026 New Year Honours for services to sports broadcasting and charity, owing to diary clashes with the tournament.

 “Unfortunately, the date they sent me was the date of my first match in the World Cup, so I obviously had to turn that one down,” explains Gabby. She then received a second date, which overlapped with the World Cup knock-out stages.

“We’ve agreed that I’ll go in the autumn at some point,” Gabby says, adding that the acknowledgement is “an amazing honour”.

The honour comes six years after she was awarded an MBE by the Prince of Wales, then the Duke of Cambridge. Does she have a preference as to which royal she would like to receive the honour from now?

“I had Prince William last time, so a change would be nice,” she jokes, quickly adding: “If it’s him, it’s fine!”

William is certainly a fitting choice, given his passion for British sports as well as his active involvement as a patron of the Football Association and the Welsh Rugby Union. “It’s always very special when [the Waleses] come to cup finals, or turn up during World Cups and the Women’s Euros,” Gabby says. “To see them there enjoying it is great.”

The passing of Gabby’s dad 

The news of her OBE arrived shortly before a time of immense sadness for her family: the passing of Gabby’s father, the Welsh former football player and manager Terry Yorath, who died aged 75 in January after a short illness.

“He was always very proud of the work that I did,” she says. “Football’s very amazing at times like that. In the immediate aftermath and the few weeks afterwards, I was contacted by so many people from the world of football. It’s been really heartening for all of us.”

Gabby’s long-standing career

It is 30 years since Gabby first joined Sky Sports as one of the few female sports presenters, before moving to ITV two years later and then the BBC in 2007. Last year, she took over the renowned Match of the Day desk alongside Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman following Gary Lineker’s departure. “It’s been remarkably pain-free,” she says of her inaugural season. 

Reflecting on how the media landscape has evolved since she started her career, Gabby says it’s “changed dramatically” when it comes to female representation. “When I look around the industry and see how many women are working across a range of areas, from behind the scenes to in front of the camera… the amount of sports content and coverage that there is, it’s amazing.

“It’s been really heartening to see how it’s changed and how many opportunities there are;  it’s great to see how many women there are in the industry.”

Changes at home 

Her home life has seen some major changes, too, with her 20-year-old twins carving out their own lives away from the Buckinghamshire home Gabby shares with her husband, the Scottish former rugby star Kenny Logan. Even though her son, Reuben, plays professional rugby for the Sale Sharks and her daughter, Lois, balances competitive showjumping with studying at Loughborough University, Gabby says they all still see “a surprisingly large amount” of one another.

“Lois has got another year of university still, so she’s home a lot,” Gabby says. “Kenny and I have a weekend in the Peak District coming up and Lois is going to come over with her boyfriend. We do activities together as a family when we can. 

“I saw Reuben last weekend because I was in Manchester (she presents Match of the Day in neighbouring Salford). We’re very lucky.”

The family’s close-knit bond was undoubtedly cemented when Kenny was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022. He underwent a full prostatectomy and was given the all-clear in 2023. It is a period that now feels like a lifetime ago.

 “Kenny hasn’t really changed in lots of ways,” she reveals. “He’s always had a great passion and appreciation for life and always gives his time to other people, and he was doing all of those things before.”

Gabby’s love of fitness

One thing that certainly remains unchanged is the couple’s shared love of fitness. “It might be a walk or we might play some padel with friends,” Gabby says. “We do like to keep active together.”

Gabby herself tries to fit in “as many sessions” of weights and Pilates as her diary allows. “They’re the two that I really try to stick to,” she says. “I make sure I keep doing some cardio as well. It’s about consistency.”

Looking ahead 

For now, Gabby is simply enjoying the ride. “My schedule is pretty rammed,” she says. “I don’t really do forward planning so much when it comes to my career. I want to keep enjoying it, keep being healthy and fit and getting the most out of all the work that I do.”

Gabby Logan presents live TV coverage of Fifa World Cup 2026 on the BBC this summer. Follow all the action live across BBC Sport from 11 June.