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New Match of the Day host Gabby Logan has confessed that she believed her television career could be cut short. In January, it was announced that Logan, along with Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates, would take over from Gary Lineker on Match of the Day this season.

Logan has been a familiar face for years due to her work with ITV and BBC, where she has covered World Cups, Olympic Games, Six Nations and numerous other major sporting events. Despite this, Logan hadn't planned for a career in broadcasting, having represented Wales in rhythmic gymnastics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games and earned a law degree from Durham University.

Her first foray into the media world was as a presenter for Metro Radio in Newcastle. She then moved on to Sky Sports before joining ITV in 1998. The 52-year-old became a recognisable face as the host of ITV's Champions League coverage, but feared her TV career might come to an end after giving birth to twins Reuben and Lois in July 2005.

However, Logan's concerns were soon put to rest as she remained with ITV until moving to the BBC in December 2006. Two decades after fearing she might need to seek fresh employment, the new Match of the Day host reflects on how her career has continued to flourish.

"Never actually working 9-5. But I really do love what I do and am enormously grateful I get to do it at the age and stage I am in my life," Logan posted on Instagram. "I genuinely thought my TV career might last a decade. When I was 33 years old with tiny twins, I thought it was all over when I left ITV.

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"I was thinking I'd be quite good at doing up property or I'd go back to Uni and convert my law degree into an actual qualification. But the BBC gave me an opportunity and a second wind.

"This was a wee snapshot of pictures from the last week and I guess the point of this post is 'it ain't over until it's over', keep believing, keep taking one step forward and that age gives you wisdom and confidence (as well as a few laughter lines). Have a beautiful day."

Logan has fronted the television coverage of countless major sporting occasions, but confessed to feeling surprisingly nervous during her first Match of the Day this season, despite frequently standing in for Lineker previously. She welcomed the idea of rotating presenters after being announced as one of Lineker's replacements in January.

"I think what's interesting is although we're sharing the role, we won't actually be working together on Match of the Day," she told the BBC. "It's really great to share it because we bring different experiences and different interests within the game.

"We bring different ways of broadcasting and that will mean our pundits are kept on their toes and share different kinds of analysis."

As the daughter of Welsh football legend Terry Yorath, Logan reminisced about her earliest memories of the iconic programme. "When my dad was playing, it was the only way you could watch football on TV because there were very few live matches," Logan recalled.

"That music would play every Saturday night because he would come home from work - playing in a match - and watch his match on Match of the Day. As a very little girl, hearing that music meant I was staying up late on a Saturday night."

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