Eilidh Barbour

Eilidh Margaret Barbour[3] (/ˈeɪli ˈbɑːrbʊər/; born 14 December 1982)[4] is a Scottish television presenter and reporter. In 2017, she was named as the main presenter for BBC's golf coverage, replacing Hazel Irvine in the role.[5]

Eilidh Barbour
Born
Eilidh Margaret Barbour

(1982-12-14) 14 December 1982
Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland[1]
Alma materUniversity of Stirling[2]
Occupation(s)Television presenter, reporter

Career

In 2005, Barbour graduated from the University of Stirling, having studied Film and Media Studies,[6] with an emphasis on audio and video production. She then moved to South Korea for a year to teach English, before returning to Scotland with the intention of finding a job within broadcasting. Her persistence paid off, for six months later she got a job with STV, primarily editing its football and rugby highlights.[7] She later took various reporting jobs, before becoming the presenter of STV Rugby for the 2011–12 season, which focused on the Scottish rugby teams in the Pro12. She has occasionally presented the results and international highlights on BBC Scotland's Sportscene.

In November 2014, Barbour came to national attention when she was a pitchside reporter at a first round FA Cup match during a special episode of Final Score.[8] From 2016 onward she has been a regular reporter for Final Score. Also in 2016, she filled in for Dan Walker as presenter for Football Focus when Walker was in Rio de Janeiro covering the Olympics. The following year, Barbour became the presenter of The Women's Football Show.[9]

In July 2017, she was named as the main presenter for the BBC's golf coverage, replacing Hazel Irvine, to whom she had written for career advice and who had been a major influence on her career. Barbour's father had always played golf, and she took up the sport in her teenage years, around the same time when her own mother wanted to learn as well.[10][11] In December 2018, she joined the presenting team for Match of the Day 2 when she stood in for regular host Mark Chapman.[12] In June 2019, Barbour was part of the BBC presenter team for the Women's World Cup, hosting, among others, the quarter-final between Germany and Sweden.

In December 2019, she was the presenter for the first Premier League game to be shown live on Amazon Prime Video, Crystal Palace vs. Bournemouth.[13]

At the Scottish Football Writers Association (SFWA) gala dinner on 8 May 2022 in Glasgow, Barbour was among attendees who walked out in protest at the sexist content of an after-dinner speech and commented afterwards that she "never felt so unwelcome in the industry".[14] The SFWA issued a formal apology the following day stating that this "will act as a catalyst to review and improve the format of our future events" to make them inspirational for all.[15] Barbour received complaints in July 2022 for stating that the English Women's team which beat Norway 8-0 in Euro 2022 was 'too white'.[16] On the BBC, Barbour stated that "All starting 11 players and five subsitutes who came onto the pitch were white, and that does point towards a lack of diversity in the women’s game in England."[17] She has since defended her comments.[18]

Barbour is a lifelong supporter of St. Johnstone.[19][20]

References
  1. Brown, Mark (10 July 2015). "Q&A: Eilidh Barbour's World Cup". Spartans FC Women. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  2. "Sport First - Issue 10" (PDF). p. 9. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  3. Barbour, Eilidh [@EilidhBarbour] (2 February 2018). "Right PyeongChang. Let's do this..... #WinterOlympics #PyeongChang2018 @BBCSport" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 February 2018 – via Twitter.
  4. "Eilidh Barbour". Partick Thistle F.C. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  5. "Hazel Irvine to front her final Masters on the BBC in 2017". BBC Sport. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  6. White, Craig (16 September 2017). "Barbour: "It's been a real honour"". Brig Magazine. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  7. "It's Golf 9 To 5 For BBC Presenter Eilidh Barbour". Women & Golf Magazine. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  8. Glendenning, Barry (9 November 2014). "Firemen and ex-boyfriends deliver old lines for BBC's new FA Cup format". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  9. Sidle, Ryan (8 March 2017). "TheSPORTBible Talks Women's Football With The BBC's Eilidh Barbour". sportbible.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  10. Brown, Annie (21 July 2017). "Meet the new face of golf as Eilidh Barbour takes over from her BBC idol Hazel Irvine". Daily Record. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  11. Myers, Rebecca (9 July 2017). "Eilidh Barbour hits over the sexist rough, clips the stuffy bunker". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  12. "BBC One - Match of the Day 2, 2018/19, 09/12/2018".
  13. Liew, Jonathan (3 December 2019). "Amazon creeps into football's broadcast jungle with stream designed to drown us". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  14. "TV presenter walks out of sports awards over sexism". BBC News. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  15. "SFWA statement". Scottishfwa.vom. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  16. Sawer, Patrick (26 July 2022). "BBC hit with 'racism' complaints over comments on England's all-white Lionesses". The Daily Telegraph.
  17. Glasspiegel, Ryan (15 July 2022). "BBC presenter suggests England women's soccer team is 'too white'". New York Post.
  18. Barbour, Eilidh [@EilidhBarbour] (19 July 2022). "I'm glad this conversation is happening. Football is a game for all. It has never been about criticising this #ENG team, it's about looking to the future and the pathways so girls can all have the same opportunities to be a Lioness" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 July 2022 – via Twitter.
  19. "Eilidh Barbour on her Saints scarf". 4 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2017 – via YouTube.
  20. "Scottish Cup Celebration Lunch". St. Johnstone F.C. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
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