The Best You - A Coaching Podcast: Personal Growth Through Real Conversations · Gary Gillan

From Passion to Profession: A Broadcasting Journey with Ellen Ellard

·46 min·3 clips

Ellen says her biggest fear was freezing on air and not getting the intro out at the Champions League final.

1. The Best You episode follows Ellen Ellard’s broadcasting journey from local radio to Sky Sports commentary. 2. Gary introduces Ellen as a sports broadcaster, commentator, reporter, host, presenter, and in-venue announcer, and Ellen matters because she is Sky Sports’ lead Women’s Super League commentator. 3. The episode asks how Ellen built a career in sports broadcasting without family connections and how she learned to handle pressure on live television. 4. Ellen says her father was a firefighter and her mother a dental hygienist, and she describes a family with “very traditional career paths.” 5. She explains that she was obsessed with radio, sneaking late-night listening to Radio 1 shows such as Annie Mac and Annie Nightingale. 6. Ellen says sport and broadcasting came together because she also played football, rugby, and athletics, and she began volunteering at a local community station at 14. 7. She says she skipped university after getting a job at a local BBC station in her last year of school and then climbed internally to BBC Radio 5 Live. 8. Ellen describes moving into sports production at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire before taking on more on-air work during lockdown. 9. She says a job at Manchester City let her work as a women’s team presenter in stadium while also moving up to Five Live in Manchester. 10. Ellen names Gabby Logan and Clare Balding as early TV role models and Vicky Sparks, Robyn Cowen, and Jackie Oatley as commentators who showed her that female commentary could be a career. 11. She credits mentor Rob Nothman with reviewing her commentary “with a fine tooth comb” and giving unbiased advice after sessions on athletics commentary. 12. Ellen also names Matt Curtis, who produces CBS’s Champions League coverage, as another mentor who helps her improve. 13. She says online abuse is “fairly standard,” which is why she left X and stopped checking comments when her confidence was low. 14. Ellen describes being the only woman in press environments in League One, League Two, and parts of the Championship, including a Huddersfield entrance where staff recognized her immediately because she was “the only woman.” 15. She says there were moments when a hand was put on her in situations where it would not have happened to a man, which made the work feel more isolating. 16. Ellen says the women’s game is growing, with more opportunities, more women taking roles confidently, and more people defending women online when trolls attack. 17. She describes the interview style as reflective and conversational, with Gary mixing personal examples, football fandom, and coaching questions. 18. The tone stays supportive and practical, moving between career advice, industry realities, and specific broadcast experiences. 19. People interested in women’s sport, live commentary, and media careers will get the most from this. 20. People looking for a quick, light sports chat with no industry detail may skip it.

As heard by us

A calm, grounded look at how nerves can sharpen a broadcaster's edge.

Ellen Ellard's route from volunteering at a local radio station at 14 to becoming Sky Sports' lead Women's Super League commentator gives the episode a clear arc.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

For when you want a calm, specific lesson in talking clearly under pressure.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Best You - A Coaching Podcast: Personal Growth Through Real Conversations