Walking The Dog with Emily Dean - Gabby Logan (Part Two)

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

We’re in Buckinghamshire with Gabby Logan and her dogs Milo, Maggie and Maverick! In this part of the chat, Gabby tells us about her career as a rhythmic gymnast, reluctantly competing in the Rose of Tralee - and she reminds us of some of her pre-Kenny romances. Gabby also tells us about her brilliant podcast The Midpoint - and how the podcast has helped her to navigate this point in her life, and some of the lessons she has learned from her guests.Listen to Emily and Ray's first walk with Gabby from April 2017Follow Gabby on Instagram @gabbyloganGabby’s podcasts The Midpoint and The Sports Agents are available wherever you get your podcasts!You can get your copy Gabby's autobiography of The First Half here!You can get your copy of The Midpoint Plan hereFollow Emily: Instagram - @emilyrebeccadeanX - @divine_miss_emWalking The Dog is produced by Faye LawrenceMusic: Rich Jarman Artwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla Gowlett  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to part two of my chat with Gabby Logan. If you haven't heard part one, do give it a listen. Do also check out Gabby's own podcasts, The Midpoint and the Sports Agents. You can also read her book, The Midpoint Plan, and her memoir the first half. And do also subscribe to us at Walking the Dog, as Raymond and I love having you with us on our walks. Here's Gabby and Milo and Maggie and Maverick and Ray Ray. You are someone who I think seems to have a very healthy approach to yourself physically in that, you know, you're very into promoting women being fit and strong.

Yeah. Rather than... Skinny. ...emaciated. Yeah. And I'm interested in how, you know, when you were younger, you were obviously a gymnast and a very good one, weren't you? Because you competed at sort of international level. Yeah.

Do you think, Gab's, looking back on that period, with your... the maturity and experience you have now and therapy, do you think, looking back on that period, that you were perhaps teetering on the borderline of a meeting disorder? Yeah, I would say it was definitely not healthy. The way we ate and we achieved the look we wanted was living on these kind of weird mono diets, oh, I'm only having oranges for three days,

or, oh, I'm only having vegetables, and that meant basically a corsette, you know. Oh, I'm vegetarian, not really. I just gave me an excuse not to have to eat anything else, you know. It was kind of, it was all a bit unscientific, and it wasn't very nutritional and was very healthy. And there was also, you know, a kind of competition as well between, you know, each other, because you kind of wanted to be, you know, the one that was the sleekest, the slimmest, you know, the most kind of likely to probably look like you're about to collapse. You know what I mean?

The Eastern European look in the sport at the time was so emaciated and hollowed cheeked. And you felt you had to achieve that look almost because that was what was going to bring you greatness in the sport. You know, so in a weird way, there was always that backstory where it wasn't actually a total body dysmorphia. It was more about, okay, I'm doing this for this end. So once that stopped, I think. I was very lucky that it didn't continue as something that would have been more insidious and difficult to deal with. I kind of normalised quite quickly because the sport had stopped. And then it took me a while to work out that I didn't have to spend the rest of my life on a diet.

I didn't want to be that woman that spent her whole life dieting because I spent so much of those teenage years thinking about food, you know, thinking about what not to eat and how, you know, how much I weighed and stuff. So yeah, it was, um, probably, probably in my mid-20s when I got really kind of thought, okay, you can be strong and fit, do exercise, eat well, live life, you know, and not spend all that time obsessing about it. And it was also because you had this injury. Yeah, I had a back injury which sort of,

did that sort of end your career? Yeah, probably a bit prematurely in some ways. It was a bit more the back than me making the decision. I don't really want to finish. Well, I know quite a bit about it because I think I discussed this last time, every time I see you, I'm afraid I have to bring this up. Because it is one of my favourite YouTube clips. I think I might even have it downloaded, I'm afraid, on my laptop,

is when Gabby won the Rose of Traulie, which is a sort of Irish beauty contest. Oh, we would not call it beauty. We would not do that, no. It was about a celebration of a young Irish woman. Except when we see it. So young Irish woman. Her dad was Welsh. I think your mum had once looked at a picture of Ireland. No, there were Irish relatives on your mum's side. My mum had some Irish in her. Yeah. So her, her,

my great-granddad, her granddad, his family were from Cork originally. And actually, his name was Devani. And that side of the family, even the people the same age as me, think of themselves as being really Irish. And they look Irish. You're not with Gayburn now, trying to convince him. It's fine. I got through. They didn't kick me out. So my friends, who anyone listen to this, who's Irish, will absolutely know immediately what we're talking about, yeah. My friend's dad owned a plant hire company. Every year he used to sponsor a girl to enter the Leeds Rose.

And I just admire a levels. And he said, oh, I'm not going to do the accent. He said, oh, Gabby, would you do this for me? I said, oh, Sean, do I have to? And he said, oh, I'll give you a few hundred quid. I went, I will then. And so I did it. And I ended up winning it.

And then what you do, when I say I did it, you wear a gown. I look like crystal carry. Oh, you wear a gown. You wear a great, well, you saw the red one, which was the final. The leads one, I wore a black and white sequined one. And you kind of walk on a stage and get interviewed and talk a bit. And then... And when they ask you what sort of a person you are and what qualities you would associate with yourself, Gabby,

some people say, oh, I'm quite humble and I'm... What word kept coming up when you were interviewed? Do you remember this? I said aggressive about three times, I think. is that that I said... Well, I'm very aggressive. And Gaper and the presenter looks so taken about.

The music starts like, la, la, la, la, la, the rolls of trolley. I'm a bit aggressive like my dad or something because he said, your dad was a famous footballer from Leeds. And I said, yeah, he said, do you like him? I said, well, I'm quite like him. People said he was very aggressive. Oh, I'm not that aggressive. I mean, I must have said it like five times.

I think he said it four times. I don't think that is a quality that the normal women of the Rose of Trilly is usually giving off as their main vibe. I would say, genteel, in fact, would be the one that they're looking for. Poise, they like. I sort of think you were ahead of your time. Quite seriously, though, the more I read about you, the more I realise you were quite, you were very determined. And you kind of were your own person.

You know, you weren't trying to sort of fit in and say what you thought was expected of you. honestly and I'm aware but it's true though isn't it because you just thought well no I'm just going to say what I feel and this is who I am and I think that was interesting because yeah you had to be there is a certain amount of aggression required in order to be good at sport

and it was probably a lack of vocabulary maybe I could have chosen a word but if you just said it about a man it probably wouldn't have been sounded absurd and like if somebody if a man said I have aggressive ambition you know that doesn't

sounds. It did make you sound like you're an Excel bully because you're very aggressive. I'm very aggressive. Well, I'm wearing. You have to describe the dress and the look. Because somebody to say that, you'd think they'd be wearing maybe, I don't know, torn jeans, a leather jacket, a pair of Doc Martins. No, I was wearing a full-length ball gown covered in red roses with the biggest puff sleeves. And the woman who owned the dress, because of course I didn't buy my own wardrobe, was a friend of my mom's called Betty Goldman, who was probably about six inches shorter than me. So this dress didn't touch the ground where it kind of,

it was like a half-mass dress. I didn't want to say, Gabby, but I did notice that. And then they cut away to my sister and my mum in the audience. Oh, is that your sister? Who looked stunning. My sister isn't she? She's stunning, absolutely stunning. Dark kind of bob, all sleek, you know, big earring in of the time,

a nice cream top. My mum looking amazing. And then they cut back to me, Miss Frizzy-haired kind of like red rose dress. And I just, that clip is hilarious because it kind of really sums up where we all were in our lives at the time. My sister was this model in London. I was post-A-levels about to go to uni.

It had no money, no clothes, clearly no sense of style. And my mum looking very glamorous, you know, kind of sitting there. And it's like, that really sums us all that. Who's the Rose of Trilley? Yeah. Who making a fool of... The aggressive one.

Because the aggressive one went for it. But one thing I was going to say to you that really struck me, is that obviously you went to Durham and you read law there and aggressively read law. Aggressively. And you started working in local radio before, you know, you eventually got into television. And what was interesting about your whole trajectory, there are these points in your life where you're pretty young, you've left university, you'll say 22, I don't know, you know. And a local radio station is willing to employ you giving an adolph.

job on the breakfast show. It's huge. I mean, it's stuff with fantasies. Yeah. And they say, right, there's a lot of money back then. We'll give you 22 grand a year. And you say, I'll do it for 25. And they say yes. And then sometime later, then you're poached. And I think it was the BBC possibly. Sky. Sky. You're poached by Sky and they say, we'll offer you 50. And you say, I'll do it for 55. Now, that may seem quite normal and natural to you, but I loved reading that. And I think that's really inspiring. And I hope young women, read that book because I honestly wouldn't have had the guts to do that myself Gabby and that's what every young woman should be doing but you put a value on yourself and it's a real lesson

which is why you are where you are now because even when I don't know how much value you actually did have to the marketplace you were young they were going to be 100 you place value on yourself and that's infectious oh thank you don't you think though thank you we have not really thought about it too much and I think that was a lot of that was my mum because I didn't have an agent so I think she felt that was important to value yourself and to even if they'd offered 18 to say 20. You know, I think it was the idea that actually, you know, don't just take the first thing that somebody offers. Don't just accept the first, you know, kind of the first thing that comes along. I suppose it's the same with like, you know, she would have been like that about a lot of things.

You know, just find your time. See what, you know, don't settle, you know. And so I suppose I got, I had to actually. execute that myself because I didn't have an agent so I was the one having those conversations and I hate having conversations about money and it's the best part about having somebody look after you manager or an agent is that you don't have to do that but at the time yeah I think I kind of just went right I'll dive in do it yeah this is let's just see what happens what's the worst that can happen and I

think looking back you think about this was just a few years after my brother died I kind of knew what the worst thing was that could happen so what was going be worse than that. Somebody's saying no. Somebody's saying we don't want you, you know. Maybe it was a bit of, maybe that gave me a bit of bravery and a bit of perspective that. That was his gift to you. Yeah. It's so sweet. I do believe that sometimes. You've gone on, as we know, to have this hugely success. You're getting national treasure status now. That means I'm just old. Yeah. Welcome. Somebody said that to me, introduced me the other day.

or something like that and honestly was looking around for Sue Barker. I was going, where's Sue? Where's Claire? What? No, me. What? Young old me? The whippersnapper. But you said, you know, when you were initially offered those gigs, those slightly entry-level gigs into sports broadcasting, you felt it was an element of reverse sexism. Yeah. Yeah. That you were, you know, a hot young thing. I like the short skirt. I inherited that from Christine. Didn't have matching pants, though. I love Christine.

It is, particularly back then, I don't think people can quite understand how different it was. I remember when I was a, you know, similar, I was like a young girl in my early 20s doing my experience at the Sunday Times and they said, we'd like you to go in it to Liverpool

to interview Jason McAer. And I thought, oh, isn't that amazing? They're inviting me because they think I know so much about football. And they were right, because I ended up going on this, car ride around Liverpool with them and a light out at a club. Yeah, because they, and they wouldn't have done that with a 45-year-old bloke, would they?

And I remember it was Jamie Rednapp and Robbie Fowler there. I remember Jamie Rednapp said, sorry about the lads, Emily. It's just, we're not used to girls like you down here. Normally some old fella in an Anorak. Well, that was kind of what they did. When I was in local radio, which is where I did my first football interviews, the guy who had been doing the job was 70-odd, wore a kind of port-pie hat with, you know, press sticking out of it.

and a long trench coat and they've been trying to retire him for years and when he finally was giving up the ghost they just literally the pendulum swung to a totally different direction. They looked at me in the newsroom because I was always hanging out with the sports team at the end of the show and then come in, come in minute gallery

we'll try a quick chat. You really like sport I don't you and it was almost like an accusation I went yeah I do and they said we just think you could do touchline interviews on Saturday St James's Park and I was like what go to the batches and get paid and you know I was just I couldn't believe that I would get a really great seat at St James's Park and get 50 quid or something for the shift, you know, probably asked for 60.

And they said, yeah, yeah, a parking space. You know, because it's kind of like, wow. So I said, but I don't know how to do this. I don't, we'll teach you, don't worry, we'll teach you. And they were four bloke. There was the producer and there was a commentator and then there was an engineer, maybe somebody else and me. And they were just amazing with me. And they were so, they did not make me feel like I was.

the token woman you know they didn't make me feel that I was kind of there because I did have a ponchoise short skirts and we at the end of season kind of awards as in our radio station they gave everybody an award that was something to do with their personality and I got a belt because they decided it was bigger than my normal skirts you know so they kind of took the piss out of me in that respect we got a belt here this is the size of Gabby's normal skirt and and that was my team that wasn't you know the football team but they was so supportive that it was really weird looking back now I didn't feel like I shouldn't be

there. Do you know what I mean? It was so odd that actually it was after I left there when I got to sky and which was so machismo and so alpha and such a different kind of space that I then started having those slightly more insecure feelings and you know imposter syndrome and all of that kind of would be more likely to have crept in and actually the local radio was very relaxed in in comparison and actually those people were really important in giving me the confidence and feeling like I I had a right to be there and it was okay. I like to think of you certainly in terms of someone who's worked on the radio and also worked, I worked with Frank Skinner, as you know, for a long time,

who's had strong associations with sport. And so there will be a crossover in that fan base sometimes. And you've probably forgotten this, but I remember ages ago, you gave me some very sensible advice because I think it shocked me just when I was getting abuse. And I couldn't work out why. I thought, well, you know, of the nature of get rid of that stupid woman. Yeah, tell her to go home and wash the dishes. We want to hear you, Frank.

Why can't you get a man? Yeah. And you almost were sort of so calm about it. You said, oh, of course that's going to happen. You know, because you dealt with a lifetime. And I think, actually, you were sort of the one hacking with a machete through the undergrowth. So everyone else could say, oh, this clearing's nice. We can work here now.

Well, I think, you know, you don't realize at the time when you do something as one of the first that you shouldn't be there, you just get on with it. And when those people come out and say those things, and obviously it's much easier now to send abuse on social media than it was when I first started out. They had to write, and not many of them could. So they didn't actually bother to send letters. So I was very fortunate in that respect. I didn't have to have that daily barrage of crap, you know, on social media. But when it did come, you know, when I first went on Twitter and opened the Pandora's box and we're, oh, not everybody likes me.

I thought that part of my face was quite nice. Apparently I've got hands like a man and hair like a lion. What? That was the first thing I ever read on the internet. The internet was invented and I got some of it and I had it in my house. And so I put my name in. And I remember shouting, Kenny! Kenny! And he was like, oh, because of course, being a sportsman,

he was used to having weekly critiques in the newspaper after a match. And he just went, oh, for God's sake, shut that. You know, he just, yeah, it was like, why would you open the Pandora's box? I mean, he didn't say that, but he was, you know, kind of, what would you do that for? Has he been quite a good influence on you, Kenny, in terms of what other people think of you is none of your business? Just that, that. Yeah, yeah, he's. Has he?

He's very... And then is that a sports thing? Do you think he's at to develop? Yeah. And I see with Rubin at 19, our son who plays Northampton Saints, he's following in his footsteps in playing professional sport. I see him having to learn to deal with that now, you know, and how, even though you've grown up kind of...

I remember Lois once reading some stuff about me on social media after something had happened on a show I'd done, and she was so upset that people were being nasty to me. And I said, honestly, I'm really fine. They're not. they're not fine because why would you do that? Why would you say those things about somebody you don't know? That's, you know, but I really had to, she was really worried for me.

You know, she's really upset that somebody would be awful. I think Ruben, as a sports person, has always had to deal with that in a way because you get dropped from the team the next week or, but now that people can say things about him on social media, you know. But he said to me that he feels like he's had to grow up quite quickly because a lot of his friends would say things about me to him, you know, and he had to deal with a lot. He didn't tell me about it at the time. He kind of waited a few years to he got a bit older and told me where he had to put up with a lot of stick. And then I make life really difficult for him by having a podcast where I talk about my sex life.

Wow. He's like, Mum, it's really nice that you and Dad have talked about his prostate cancer. Can you stop talking about your sex life for me though? Because now when I go into work, they play clips of the midpoint in the dressing room at Northampton Saints. And he said, it would really be helpful if you just shut up for a while. And it's like, actually, next week's episode, just on that. Well, I'm glad you brought up the podcast because this is, of course, your brilliant podcast. We don't just talk about them.

We're so excited. I can just say if anybody was to dip into it? There are some fascinating chats. And what's lovely about it is that it's... You've been on it. You've been an excellent guest. I love to seek out the episode. And it's very much about all these sort of issues that affect you, but it's also a celebration I view it as as as well.

Yeah, well, that was the actual intention at the very beginning, was to celebrate this period of life, the kind of changes people make because you get to the end of one career, you might want to start another or you get to the end of a relationship, but you might want to start another. Sorry, Kenny.

Can you make us a tea before you go? Things run out, don't they? They run out of steam. And I think we didn't used to live this long. Women like us in our age group, about 200 years ago, we'd have been put outside the village, wouldn't we, on the grass?

Well, also, what we have... your job, go away. We had to start buying clothes at the eye-had-given-up shop. Yeah. Well, my original catchphrase was middle-aged but not beige. You know, it was that kind of feeling that you had to just dress to disappear almost and not be part of the story. And I think there's a lot of reasons why the conversation about this period of life

has become a lot more prevalent. And one of those is to do with the group of women who've talked a lot about menopause. And that then, of course, started coming up on my podcast because of the age of the women. and then people are not afraid to talk about it. So I was laughing today. I got sent this purple ribbon by this charity called Menopause Cafe. And they wanted me to do this little video for them saying something like, support the cause menopause.

And Reuben went, oh God, have you been through the menopause? Because he's such a pistee who's like, you haven't stopped talking about it for five years. And so they, have you? Oh, have you? So yeah, I think the conversation you could say is fairly out in the open. But actually, I love the fact that Rubin at 19 knows what it is. I don't think, you know, 30 years ago, 19-year-old boys knew what menopause was. And as I've said many times in talking on the podcast,

imagine if we didn't tell kids what puberty was. And they just woke up one morning with, you know, a period. Or a boy was ejaculating and going, what the hell is this? She can't stop herself. I do apologize. otherwise. I call it the Kenny Rayman's just put his paws on his ears. He is embarrassed. Maverick's

saying she's at it again. So I think, you know, the fact that we are acknowledging that changes happen to men and women at this stage of life. And Kenny himself, because of the podcast, ended up having some blood test because he thought his testosterone might be dropping because I talked

to Davina McColl on the podcast about libido and how hormone replacement therapy affects that. And he was like, well, hang on a minute, if your libido is going to get really like crazy, what's going to happen to me? And I was like, of course, all about you, Kenny, isn't it? So he went off and got some blood tests, and they said, don't worry about your testosterone.

You've got a high PSA. And he was like, what's the PSA? And they said it's an indicator of prostate cancer. And a year later, he was having his prostate removed and had prostate cancer. So we're very grateful that he was a fan of the podcast and listened to it. So I was out walking the dogs, came into my office, kind of went, I've just been walking the dogs. And I was really dismissive.

I'm like, oh, just go get some blood tests. And that's how he found it. That must have been really frightening there, Gabby. Well, it was because I know this sounds incredibly naive, but we just didn't think we were a cancer family. Do you know what to me? Because nobody in my family, other than really older people who were kind of probably dying

of lots of other things had got cancer. We never had any younger people. I want to say younger, he was 51 when he had his prostate removed. But that does seem young. You don't think of kind of, so I just hadn't dealt with it. We dealt with other things. Obviously, we've talked about some of the things we've dealt with, but that wasn't something that was on our radar.

And I certainly, he was really healthy, really, you know, ostensibly healthy, did loads of exercise, ate well, didn't smoke, didn't drink. And actually his urologist said to him, look, it's an unlucky cancer, you know, it's not one that you've brought on through lifestyle. This is just something that can happen. So we found out a lot more about something we didn't know anything about. It's like the classic, isn't it? You don't know anything about it.

And then suddenly you know loads about it. You're googling these weird things in the middle of the night. So, yeah, it was frightening. Well, not frightening. It was, it was shocking, you know. It was shocking because it was just so hidden. And you just look back and think, God, if he hadn't done that and it'd come somewhere else, you know, in his body,

because that's what happens with prostate cancer. It's not the prostate cancer that kills you. It's the next one, basically. It's the secondary. I mean, people do die of prostate cancer because of the other cancers, basically. So we were incredibly lucky and fortunate that he got it when he did. And it's, well, apart from all the rugby injuries that keep flaring up. But, you know, I won't talk about those.

And now your kids can get a blow-by-blower account. Well, the reason on the podcast we talk about, because one of the things is erectile function. Oh, I know. I've discussed this with Lois and Rubin. We know about the erectile function. And so obviously that kind of issue. I try to be really, I try to navigate it in a very subtle way, but apparently I'm not.

So, you know, there you go. But that's, you know, being open sometimes, I think, is probably the best way to be on things like that. And in addition to your podcast, you have written a brilliant book as well. Kind of a companion to it. Yeah. which is a midpoint plan. Yes. I found it really useful some bits of it.

Because that's what I really wanted to be, something you could just pick up and go, well, this thing's, what about, there's a chapter on money. There's a chapter on relationships, friendships, friendships, you know, kind of, so it's not just the medical stuff of midlife. It's the lifestyle stuff that things can change

because they all chapters are sparked by things guests have said and experts have said and then I contribute to the chapters with my own experiences. So, yeah, It is a companion to the podcast. And I didn't, you know, some people when I was kind of promoting it, it's asking, well, why would you write this?

Well, it's really arrogant to assume that everybody's listened to 125 episodes of the podcast. You know, they wouldn't have listened to everything. So therefore, this kind of collates all the best bits, hopefully. Yeah. And it's really, it's just little things like, I love this idea of yours that, you know, don't Google things because it forces your brain to use that. You mean for an answer? Yeah.

trying to come up with the answer to something. We're not saying never use Google. Gabby Logan says anyone who uses Google is a complete awesome. Anybody who doesn't use the incitriplea Britannica. But it's this idea and actually Frank Skinner is a big fan of that, which is if you know the answer to something and you just can't remember it, resist immediately trying to, we reach for an immediate answer, which is why we rely on our phones and Google.

but it's really great. If the information is retrievable, give it a go. Give it a go. If you're not in a really big hurry, try, you know, and I say this, one of my makeup artists I work with, we had this discussion a few years ago that I was trying,

and then she's a few years younger than me, and she's started to do this. And so we will both, she'll be doing my makeup, and it might take two minutes for us to get that name, but eventually we'll get there. And I think it's about, basically, it's the premise of use it or lose it, isn't it? And it applies to your muscles,

it applies to your brain, it applies to being social, you know, and being sociable, you look at how that has affected people in COVID and how people have lost their confidence with being sociable. And one of the big factors of longevity in the blue zones of the world is being sociable and having friends. And that doesn't mean you have to have loads of friends, but going out and doing things and being purposeful. So I think that all ties in with this idea of using your brain. And some people love to do a puzzle. Other people want to do a crossword, you know, to kind of keep that stuff ticking over, reading stuff that's completely out of your comfort

zone I think is really good as well because that's why I joined a book club because so far not many of those books would have been my choice. And you play the recorder? And you, you do, don't you? Did you take out the recorder when you were 50? My agent bought me a recorder, yeah. It's not, I mean, that really isn't the answer I don't think. And I don't want you to take that as the main advice of the book, dear listener, if that's what you take away from the midpoint to plant. Isn't one of the great things about getting older, you think I'll never have to hear that fucking noise again. I hope this comes over the right way.

Whenever I see you, Gabby, or particularly now seeing you, you know, it's very easy and this ties in with what you've written about in your book and on your podcast. It's very easy to be hard on yourself, as a woman, particularly when you get older. I think every day it becomes easy to look in the mirror and think, punish yourself for not looking young, not looking like you did. you know 10 years ago and I really love it when I see you because I think god you look so I don't like commenting on people's appearances but I hope you'll allow this because it's a nice thing you look so amazing and healthy um but you don't look false or what you're trying to you don't

look frozen or waxed or yeah I don't know what I mean I think there's so when I say waxed you know what I mean I know what you mean. And I, of course, you have those conversations with like-minded friends about, oh, should we be doing something? Should we? Should we be doing something? Listen, never say never to anything and no, judge anybody on doing it at all, whatever you want to do. I just, I feel my friend Charlotte, who's a stylist, who's a really good friend who I've known for years,

so I also love working with. She and I, when we were in our 30s, she used to say, right, because she worked with all the top models and stuff. She used to work on Tatler, and she was the fashion director of ES. and stuff and she said, there's this surgeon in Paris, who apparently is the best in the world. When we're 50, we'll go, we'll just get the facelift. We won't do the injections, we'll just... Yeah.

And we both turned 50, like, in the last year, and I went, Charlotte, we haven't been. And she was like, we're not going. We're not going. So I think there's a lot of... Is it hard on TV? Do you feel sometimes... Do you ever feel the pressure to kind of...

Yeah. Well, so during... So I work with one of the most beautiful woman in the world, Denise Lewis, right? Who is flawless. Like, literally flawless. when this summer I've had loads people who've been really lovely coming up to me all the time telling me they love the Olympics. I feel like I'm somehow like the kids go she hasn't won a bloody medal, you know. They come and they go, oh, God, thank you so much.

The Olympics was great. And I just literally sat there and chatted about it, but thank you. And this woman came up to me in Starvation. She said, I'll just say, thank you so much. Your Olympic coverage was brilliant. And for you to have to sit next to Denise Lewis as well for three weeks. I just loved it. I said, I know.

But the thing is my mum, when I first started doing athletics 10 years ago, the first person who texted me that night was my mum with a picture of Denise from the telly. Is she really this beautiful? So I just showed Denise. I was like that she started laughing. I said, yes, mum, she really is this beautiful. You always really, well I feel anyway, that it's always slightly frustrated you this idea that, you know, women don't have the access to sport,

and particularly a passion for sport, that men get given. And I wanted to tell you something. which I thought, I don't know, I found it, it really heartened me that my goddaughter, honey, who's not remotely interested in sport, because she doesn't come from her family that care about sport, you know, and nor did I, but weirdly, I'm quite passionate about sport. Yeah, but you're really interested in sport. I love sport, and so what's interesting, though, is that she... Tocene McAteer's going for that, haven't we, really?

Yeah, exactly. So she called me not long ago, and she said, it was such an emotional moment for me, because she went, oh, I might get it now. And I said, what do you mean? She said, well, I saw that Beckham documentary on Netflix. And I suddenly realised why I was kind of invested in him then when I was watching the footage because I knew about him. And it made me realise when people say,

because women say, I don't like sport. What they're actually saying is I've never been given an entry point. Yeah, yeah. I'm not literate in sport. Yeah, I don't know what to care about actually. And how to, because I have. haven't had that connection with it and have probably not had that, as you say, sporting literacy growing up or that entry point and haven't had those connections.

And now it's so much more possible for them to do that because you could see women doing sport on the telly, hurrah! Because, you know, 35, 40 years ago you didn't see that, did you? So yeah, women having, you know, kind of leading debate panels, women doing a range of sports, not just, you know, being tennis players and golfers. I think I only saw the Olympics, tennis, plays and golfers when I was growing up on the telly, who were women. You know, I didn't really see any other sports. If they weren't Olympic sports, you never saw women playing football or women playing red field.

I can remember, and it was interesting, that was a similar thing for us. I mean, I didn't go on to be an international gymnast and the Champions League Cup. But I can remember that 1984 Olympics, it felt like the first Olympics where I felt this is so glamorous. It felt like showbiz. Yeah, it was the one that way up to it. It was all of that. And I, you know, it was LA looking shiny and just like, and it wasn't even in our time zone, which gives me a great hope for the next Olympics, because I'm slightly worried about the next Olympics already.

I'm getting anxiety because this Olympics was so amazing in Paris because it was in our time zone. Everybody joined in. I think, how are we going to get that feeling about it? And I thought, actually, L.A. was the one that woke me up to sport. So hopefully, somehow we will, I think Raymond's going to need a lift for the next part of the journey. I'm going to carry him now, Gabs. Do you know what? I didn't know about you.

frankly I don't like to think of you having a romantic life pre-kenny I don't like it the kids were so funny about me having well they don't mind me having boyfriends pre-kenny because that's I do I do but they I tell a story in my book about basically having an affair

was that when you were Gary? Yeah and I kind of went off with this tennis player this German tennis player and the kids are just like oh god that no I was with Ian and the kids Yeah you were with Ian at the time. What happened? I had to text Ian before the book came out and I said

Ian, I've written about the end of our relationship but you come out of this really well. Put it this way. If my kids were reading that and the roles were reversed, they would think you're a hero and he texts me back and he went, yeah, thanks, okay because I sent him the kind of, because I didn't want him to read it and think, oh thanks for that.

Did he not know that you cheated on him? No, he did know because in the book I write about how disappointed he was in me. Yeah, but no, he knew. I wouldn't have just revealed it then. But it was more I didn't want him to feel like he was being emasculated somehow. Do you know what I mean? Because he was such a nice person.

So the kids didn't like that. Lois was very moralistic and she thought I was just awful. Why? I just don't understand why he would do that. But looking back, like when you were going out with Gary the Olympian, let's just leave it there, you were pretty young, Gavs. I mean, he was 28. Well, there was a 10-year age difference and I met him at 16.

everybody's gone silent. Wow, even Maverick. Even the birds have stopped tweeting. Cheryl and Pony's having a meltdown. But your parents, in retrospect, you feel they handled that quite well because they must have been alarmed. I feel like they handled it okay.

I don't. I wouldn't say well. I feel like I would have really stopped it. They thought they'd stopped it, but they didn't really do many checks. Because it just got married as well, hadn't he? Yeah, I mean, he got married. married 10 days after he met me and then then sent me roses from his honeymoon telling me he was in

love with me and at 16 years old nearly 17 of course my head was turned and I thought I was the most precious thing in the world like somebody had decided that gangly old me who'd never really even kissed a boy was worth sending flowers to you know it's just I was just I was unbelievably flattered way too way too flattered it would have been better if I'd gone to the Commonwealth Games where I met him as somebody you'd had a few boyfriends and I probably wouldn't have been that bothered, you know, whereas I was so naive, I was going, oh my gosh, this is, you know. Yeah. Yeah, but all these things are, do you mind coming this way?

Is that okay? Just going into the field with the Shetland, hello, darling. The Shetland's got a muzzle on, which doesn't fill me with confidence. There's reason, oh, gosh, that's not the same as a dog-wring muzzle. That's to do with weight. That's the e-zempic of the horse world. That basically stops him eating because he's a chubby little thing.

And Lois was very cross. Do you think that to Kenny? Lois was very cross because a few weeks ago, somebody moved him out of one field and put him into another when he wasn't supposed to be in a fresh grass field. And he came back and she said, you might laugh at him because he was huge. That belly he's got was on the floor.

She said he could have killed himself with overeating. So whereas this field we're in now has got really short grass, so he's not going to do himself too much harm, but she's kept the muzzle on until the weight comes off. She's strict Lois. She's the kind of Rosemary Connolly of the whole the horse world, keep those horses in good way. Well, to be serious, it is kind of important, isn't it?

To not, as a horse, to not be overweight. It's not good when you don't want them getting a beer belly. No. Your kids are obviously off now, as you say. Yeah. Is it a real thing, that whole emptiness syndrome, you know? Do you, are you the kind of person that likes the noise and bustle and... I love it, and I'm really...

Somebody said to me about my obsessiveness about... They're always being trainers at the back of the door, and I'm always like, we've got a bootroom! Put the trainers in the bootroom. She said to me, when the trainers aren't there, you'll really miss them. So now when I come in, I don't shout about trainers. I just, if anything, I add more. I'm just so delighted, you know, that they're home.

And I'm really, I am dreading Lois going to university. But you know what? You've got Maverick now. I have. I've got Maverick. I've got Maggie, got Milo. And I've still got Kenny. So last time you should have had Kennyitis, didn't you?

Because I talked about Kenny too much. Yeah, you had Kenny Ittis. Think about Kenny. But isn't that quite sweet though? And today, I haven't mentioned him once. If anything, we've talked about Gary and Ian too much. Don't tell him. If anything, the exes are coming to town.

Look, it's starting. Come here under this. Oh, I'm hiding under Gabby Logan's fleece. When you say fleece, that sounds really kind of like, I don't know, something out of a camping shop. I mean, you know, it's quite cool. Okay, Kenny, Kenny's shouting. Kenny, we're just coming.

Kenny, why you didn't DIY in the rain? Putting the lights up. He's got two hours off and he has to do something. We're just going in now. It's raining. It sounds like we've had a real adventure, doesn't it? I'm sorry, I let you quickly. Oh, do you know what?

Take your shoes. I mean, don't worry about. Hi, darling. This is Reuben, Emily. Hi Ruben, how are you? I've talked about you a bit on her in his podcast. Yeah, yeah. You've got to look really well.

This is my little boy, Ruben. He's not so little anymore. No, I'm not sorry. Why are you taking your boots back for Friday? He's got his outfit on. He's ready to, ready to, are you trained today? No. I've got to go gym.

Have you going straight to gym now? Do you have to train in the rain then? They don't let you have the day off. We have an indoor facility. We still train the rain. He's actually technically on a day off today. That's why he's home because he lives in Northampton. but he's obviously going back.

Are you better than your dad, do you think? I will be, yeah. We're recording. Do you? No, fingers crossed, fingers fine. I don't want to jinx it. I'm obsessed with him. He's brilliant.

I'll see you on Friday. Bye, Rooke. Bye. I was telling Emily that whenever you leave, you've probably done it already, you always give Milo an extra big hug. See, it always lies down with him, gives him a massive hug. Bye, I'll see him. Bye, darling.

Bye, drive carefully. Bye, Robin. Bye, bye. Bye. He's a good boy, isn't he? Yeah, he's a good boy. He must be so proud, Gabs. Why the night's not working, Emily?

I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't turn them on because Kenny's... I hope I don't electrocute him. Oh, good, I haven't electrocuted you. I've just met... Kenny? Oh, they're working. Oh, thanks, that's nice.

Actually, what did I do, girls? What did I do? I hid us under the woods because I am an outdoorsy type... I've just met your lovely son and I asked him who was better. What do you think he said? No, he probably said the hands up. Yeah.

No, he said you and, but one day I'll be better or something like that, didn't he? One day. Yeah. To be fair. To be fair. When he's been interviewed, when he's been interviewed before, he said something really nice, didn't he, about if I could be half the player my dad was, I'd be. Oh, that's so sweet.

He must be really proud of him, Kenny. Yeah, I'm very proud of him, Kenny. I'm going to get Gabby to make me a cup of coffee. I make you one night. Today, Emily said I didn't have Kennyitis today the last time I kept talking about him. She couldn't stop last time. There was no stopping her. She's too tired, man. She's tired with me because of the kids are there.

It's Maverick. It's Maverick. So I got Maverick. It's not giving him a break. Gabby, thank you so much. We've loved our walk. And what do you think of Ray, by the way? I love Ray. I feel like I know Ray really well. Do you? Yeah, because I see him on social media. I see him on all the podcasts. And I feel like he blended well, didn't he with everybody?

The other dogs. If you want to go away anywhere without him, then please. What do you think? My casa to casa, Remando. How dare you? It's gorgeous. Bye, my darlings. She's forgiven you for not taking her, Maggie.

I love Maverick. Matherick was adorable. Thank you so much. I feel like we've scratched the surface on millions of things. As always with you, Emily Dean, I feel like there's so much more we can always talk about. Oh, yeah, I know. and we will. Thank you so much, Gabrielle.

You say goodbye to Roe. Bye, Roe. I'm sorry, it's breast smells. Not you, Kenny. I really hope you enjoyed that episode of Walking the Dog. We'd love it if you subscribed and do join us next time on Walking the Dog wherever you get your podcasts.