TV presenter puts Prince William on the spot with surprise demand

Gabby Logan, TV presenter and former international gymnast,  has jokingly requested a change as part of her OBE ceremony after declining to collect the award.

Gabby, who will be the BBC’s first female World Cup anchor when coverage of the tournament starts later this month, has explained how she has had to delay receiving the major honour from Prince William.

Gabby is so busy she has in the past twice declined invitations to collect her OBE, given to her in the 2026 New Year’s Honours list, saying one of the reasons was the World Cup.

“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. We’ve agreed that I’ll go in the autumn at some point,” she explained.

Gabby’s OBE comes six years after she was made an MBE by William. In response to who she would like to award her MBE, Gabby joked: “I had Prince William last time, so a change would be nice. If it’s him, it’s fine.”

She broke her silence about MBE while addressing how the landscape for women has changed in sports broadcasting.

 “Sports TV generally is definitely a much more inclusive-looking place to work. It has definitely changed, but society still has problems in the way women are treated. The political landscape has shown that even in the last week, she told the Mirror.

The host went on: “Football coverage can’t solve that, but hopefully we can show the power of men and women working together, the power of female sporting role models, and then to a younger generation, it should be the norm.”

Gabby has worked as a sports broadcaster for decades and is one of the most respected voices in the space, has defended the decision.