Veteran sports presenter Gabby Logan has opened up about her brief and bruising experience on Strictly Come Dancing, admitting that being voted off early left her questioning how the public really felt about her.
Speaking candidly on the Gold Minds podcast with Jessica Ennis, the 52-year-old BBC host reflected on her 2007 stint on the hit show, which ended in week four — a moment she says was more emotionally jarring than she ever expected.
“I had an amazing experience on Strictly, but also a kind of life-changing experience — and not in a good way,” Gabby confessed.
While many celebrities describe their Strictly journey as magical or transformational, Gabby’s takeaway was more sobering.
“When you get voted out of Strictly, it’s so shocking. You’re already working on the next week’s dance. You don’t expect to go home.”
But it wasn’t just the elimination that hit hard — it was what it revealed.
“It was the fact that people didn’t vote for me… and I was very much aware that people didn’t like me.
It sounds a bit pathetic, but you realise it’s not just about dancing — it’s about whether people relate to you, like you. And that was tough.”
Gabby says she missed the dancing dearly but struggled more with the psychological aftermath — grappling with why she didn’t connect with audiences.
“It was a very sobering experience. I remember thinking: what was it about me that people didn’t relate to?”
Despite the emotional toll, Gabby has long been known for her resilience in the face of industry challenges. A respected broadcaster, she’s spent decades carving out space for herself in the male-dominated world of sports media — first at Sky Sports and ITV, and since 2007, at BBC Sport.
But even there, she admits it wasn’t always easy.
“At the very beginning, I found it a lot harder than I probably acknowledged at the time,” she told Best magazine.
“It was never toxic, but in the ’90s, whether you were in the City or in medicine — any male-dominated space — you’d hear things you wouldn’t hear now.”
Now one of the most recognisable faces in sports presenting, Gabby’s honesty about her Strictlyexperience is a rare glimpse into the emotional weight reality TV can carry — especially for public figures used to toughing it out in high-pressure environments.
And while she may not have won the glitterball trophy, Logan’s legacy as a trailblazer in sports broadcasting is firmly intact.
