KIRSTY GALLACHER HITS OUT AT PEOPLE WHO SAY SHE WAS 'GIFTED' CAREER BECAUSE OF FAMOUS DAD
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One is the daughter of a former Ryder Cup captain while the other has a Scots football legend as a dad.
However, TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher has hit out at criticism she’s faced throughout her career that she got where she is as a result of nepotism.
Edinburgh-born Kirsty, who ended up forging her own career as a successful Sky sports presenter and broadcaster, also pointed to her friend and fellow presenter Kelly Cates - daughter of Celtic and Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, as another hard-working female who has faced similar criticism.
The star, who is the daughter of Bathgate-born golfer Bernard Gallacher, explained: ‘I’m very proud to be one of the women at the forefront of sport, because in the beginning, I was one of very few women.
'And I think you’ve got to take your hat off to Sky and Sky Sports to say, they were brave doing what they did. And there was a lot of flak.
‘I think we did put up with a lot. I mean, there’s a lot of not just nepotism for me and Kelly [Cates], with fathers who were in sports, and they were like, “oh, you’ve been gifted a career”. I was like, absolutely not.
‘I’ve worked to get here. I’ve worked behind the scenes. I’ve worked my way up and I’m here.
‘And I think one thing I learned in news or TV, is you’ve got to work harder to know your stuff.’
However, she also said she feels proud to have shown other young women and girls what they can achieve. She said: ‘I’m really happy to be a woman in sport and TV and to have sort of changed things.’
She also revealed that the negative repercussions of having a famous father started early. ‘I went to an all-girls private school in Ascot and my sister had a great experience there and my experience was not good.
‘Jealousy, a lot of jealousy because my dad was at the height of his Ryder Cup career,’ she said.
Gallacher, who hosts a Smooth Radio show and turns 50 in January, was once devastated by the divorce from Paul Sampson, the father of her two children.
She has since found love with former rugby player Darren Clayton, 39. However, despite being together for two years, she has no desire to marry again. ‘We’re very content. We have a lovely family. It is a blended family or whatever they call it now, and quite amusing at times,’ she said.
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