Gabby’s brother died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy aged 15 (Picture: Getty)
Gabby Logan has admitted that she took on ‘a lot of responsibility’ following her brother’s death at the age of 15.
The 49-year-old presenter’s brother Daniel Logan died after playing football with their father Terry Yorath, the former professional Welsh footballer.
Logan died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that affects the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body, just after he signed to be a professional footballer for Leeds United.
Joining Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs on Sunday, Gabby said the tragedy also led her to ‘take chances’ including an early start in radio.
‘He was a beautiful, strong, fit, healthy, handsome, popular young man and he had everything to live for,’ she told the programme.
The sports presenter went to go and collect his death certificate (Picture: Shutterstock)
‘As the eldest child, I think I assumed quite a lot of responsibility, I went and picked up his death certificate, for example.’
She said ‘everyone deals’ with grief differently as she said her mother, Christine, sought help through counselling and looking into religion.
‘My dad was very much a person who felt the glass was half empty already and for him, this was confirmation that life was no good and he kind of pulled himself away from a lot of our family life,’ she continued.
Gabby also said: ‘I went to Durham (University) and I thought right, every day is for grabbing hold of and doing things and trying things and yeah, I’d like to work for the radio station in Newcastle.
‘I attacked my university life with with that kind of energy, I suppose…but I think in my heart I kind of felt like he’d not had that chance and I was (going to) take it.’
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After university, Gabby would go on to join Sky Sports as a presenter before working at ITV and then leaving to present Inside Sport at the BBC.
When she first started out as a broadcaster, she said she spent time proving ‘people wrong’ who looked down on her being a woman presenting sport but said ‘it’s really satisfying’ there is ‘more representation’ today.
Desert Island Discs airs on Sunday on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, at 11.15am.
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She had to go and collect his death certificate.
