At the Bafta Scotland awards, a Blue Peter presenter disclosed her discovery through TikTok, while a seasoned sports broadcaster dismissed any notion of stepping into Gary Lineker’s shoes on Match Of The Day.
Abby Cook, a 20 year old wheelchair racer from Falkirk now residing in Manchester, recounted how social media propelled her to a role on Blue Peter. Adorning her ballgown with a Blue Peter badge, Cook reminisced about her childhood days spent avidly watching the BBC children’s programme. Without an agent, she was scouted for the presenting gig via Instagram direct messages.
Cook expressed her eagerness to work in Scotland and the serendipitous nature of her career, saying, “I would love to come up to Scotland, I just need to get myself an agent. I got my job through social media. I was found through TikTok and was contacted via Instagram direct messages.”
She added: “They asked if I would send a 1.5 minute video.”
Reflecting on her swift journey from studying occupational health in Glasgow to appearing on television, Cook shared, “I was studying occupational health in Glasgow, then I was on TV. The way I earned my first Blue Peter badge was through abseiling off a viaduct.”
Her fond memories of participating in the show as a viewer, voting in ‘Blue Peter You Decide’, and her eventual role as a presenter seemed like destiny aligning. Despite not winning the Audience Award at the event, Cook highlighted the challenges of being an influencer, stating, “It is really difficult to put so much of your life out there.”
In contrast, Hazel Irvine, aged 59, imparted wisdom to budding broadcasters, encouraging them to “read, read, read, and write, write, write” in pursuit of their ambitions.
However, she has dismissed the idea of taking over Gary Lineker’s role on Match Of The Day, stating: “I think my days doing football are over.”
She fondly remembered her time covering the World Cup in Italy in 1990 as “a thrill and a half”. Irvine shared her wisdom for aspiring female journalists: “I have dispensed a lot of advice to young women – read, read, read, and write, write, write.”
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She encouraged determination with the words, “If you want to do it, you will do it,” and highlighted the increased opportunities now available: “There are things to do if you want to be a broadcaster which weren’t open to me when I was young. I think there’s a myriad of opportunities for young people to launch their careers.”
At the Bafta Scotland awards on Sunday, Irvine was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television award. Broadcaster Andrew Cotter commended her for “making it look easy” and acknowledged her “graft” throughout her nearly four-decade career.
The ceremony featured clips of Irvine and Cotter broadcasting from Paris under a tarpaulin, and another of Irvine sporting a knitted jumper adorned with a thistle.
Snooker commentator John Parrott lauded her as “always immaculate and well-rehearsed”, while fellow pundit Alan McManus remarked that the recognition “should have happened way before now”. Gary Lineker himself expressed his admiration, saying he “learnt so much” from Irvine, whom he described as “one of the very best in the business”.
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